Bleach: New Shinigami Edward
by FanWriterWill
Summary: Edward Smith is a British Student living in Karakura Town, until a fateful encounter changes that...
1. Chapter 1

Karakura Town was a quiet place where little happened, or at least to those who couldn't 'see' what was happening. To those with certain qualities, Karakura Town was a hotspot for all manner of activity. You see, there are many theories on what happens after we die, and whether or not they are all true is a story for another time, but there is something that exists for certain: the Shinigami, or the Soul Reapers, and the existence of a place known as Soul Society. These Soul Reapers are charged with the protection of all souls in the world, both living and dead, from the forces who would aim to disturb their peace. The people of The World of the Living go by unknowingly, oblivious to their protection at the hands of these beings. This is the story of one boy, who joined this force and who would change the world forever.

Edward Smith was a British student who had migrated to Karakura Town when he was 12; therefore he stuck out like a sore thumb is his class. 'Kurosaki-kun', 'Sado-kun', 'Inoue-san', 'Smith-kun'. The stark contrast in naming made many of his classmates notice him, and even after 3 years his closest friends mocked the difference slightly. Edward didn't mind, in fact he appreciated it; it made him stand out, made him different. He mostly stayed to himself, existed quietly, never being the centre of attention for long. His other classmates like Asano and Tatsuki were loud and noticeable, but Edward kept to himself. He was nothing special, and didn't act like it.

Edward was sitting patiently in his morning lesson waiting for their teacher to arrive and take the register. The majority of the class were happily chatting away, or playing on their phones, but Edward was sitting at his desk reading some manga silently. As he read to himself, he felt a strange… force, pulling on him slightly as if something familiar was near, or something he was drawn to. He stared out his window nonchalantly, but quickly fixated on the school pitch beneath him. He wasn't sure, but he swore he saw something, a figure out of the corner of his eye, but it wasn't really there. It flickered out of his view almost immediately, as if he shouldn't have seen it or shouldn't have been able to see it. He looked again, but quickly ignored the fleeting moment and went back to his book. It was probably just a trick of the light, right?

School flew past quickly, and Edward was glad to get out of it. Today was a Friday, so he had the weekend to himself afterwards. Edward was going to stay with his dad further north into town, so he was carrying his things to his house late at night. His mother had offered to drive him to his father's house, but he turned her down. He wanted the walk to clear his head, and he'd have slightly longer away from his dad. The walk wouldn't hurt him, after all Edward was a pretty strong kid. He stood tall at 6ft 3, and had a fairly strong build weighing in at 82kg. This meant he was left to his own vices at school, and he was happy because of it. He was certainly no Sado, but he could look after himself. He light blonde hair and blue eyes did enough to signal his European genes, so it was no surprise he was tall too.

Edward was quietly walking through the streets when he heard a loud crash behind him. He quickly spun around, dropping his luggage in the process. A nearby wall had been crashed through, leaving a large amount of rubble and dust. An ear-piercing shriek suddenly sounded, and Edward braced himself against the force of the blast. Edward looked up, but couldn't see anything. There was another crash, and a nearby lamppost was ripped out the ground. Edward fell to the ground as the post was thrown at him. He scrambled up in panic, and looked around. There was still nothing to be seen, and his assailant seemed to have stopped. Suddenly, Edward flew into the air as his attacker hit him. Edward hit a nearby wall, barely conscious. His sight was falling in and out of darkness, yet he felt as though he could see more. He could see something forming in front of him, but it had yet to take shape. Slowly, a figure could be seen; if one could call it that. A huge monster blurred into view; a four legged beast covered in fur, with a large spiked white mask. It was slowly stepping towards him, and it was menacingly laughing:

"It looks as though this is all I'm getting tonight!" it said in a deep, horrifying voice. Edward lashed out a kick in fear, which did little to the beast. "It seems the little boy can see me! Oh well, maybe this meal will taste even better!" The monster opened it mouth, and went in for the final strike.

In an instant, the monster reeled back in pain. Blood was flying from a wound on its arm, and it looked to be in agony. In front of Edward stood a strange, large-breasted woman with flowing orange hair. She was dressed in black robes and was carrying an authentic katana. She looked back at Edward, who got a look at her beautiful face. She seemed unfazed by the damage she'd caused, as if it didn't matter that he saw.

"Wh-who are you?!" Edward asked in fear. The women suddenly looked confused, and kneelt down

"You can see me?" she asked. Edward gasped, and pointed behind her:

"Behind you, quickly!" The woman spun around and was slapped aside by the monster. She had no time to counter, and was swiped against a building. She struggled to get up, before falling back down. The attack had caught her off guard, and she was unable to brace herself. Edward looked back at the monster in terror, knowing this was his end.

The women lay against the wall and clutched her side, which was cut badly.

"That bastard…" she muttered. It wasn't enough to kill her, but she was in a bad way. She looked over at the boy lying against the wall, as he unsteadily pulled himself up. The Hollow pulled itself up to its full height, and punched the boy. Instead of his body flying back, his soul was ejected from the body.

"Is that this Hollow's power?" she whispered to herself. She looked at the soul and gasped.

"His Chain of Fate? Where is it?!" The soul had now stood up, and it was clear than there was no Chain of Fate present on neither the body nor the soul. "Is he a Soul-? No, he can't be…" The soul was standing still in the Hollow's path, with its head bowed.

"Was is it, boy? Have you given up?" the Hollow laughed smugly. The soul didn't say a word, and then something shocking happened.

The soul looked up, and where its eyes should be there was instead a bright white glow. The soul stepped forwards, and a blinding white light surrounded it. The women gasped:

"This Spiritual Pressure-? It's monstrous!" she said in disbelief. The boy continued walking towards the Hollow, who was hiding its fear in laughter. As the soul got closer, the Hollow lashed a punch at it.

"No…" the soul said, lifting its finger towards the Hollow. There was a flash, and when it subsided the Hollow was frozen. Its fist was in place, blocked by the soul's finger.

"What?! He stopped it with his finger?!" the woman cried. The white light flared up again, and the Hollow's arm split apart. Blood flew everywhere, and the Hollow fell back.

"Y-you monster!" it cried, before escaping through a portal to wherever it came from. The soul then stumbled and passed out, the light subsiding quickly. The woman stood up and ran over to the soul; it was out cold, but its Spiritual Pressure could still be felt.

"Who are you?" she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Edward was floating in and out of consciousness and his view was blurred. He couldn't remember much of what had just happened, if anything, and was feeling oddly exhausted. In his limited vision, he saw that woman from earlier. She looked to have been healed entirely, and was talking on a strange little phone. From what he could pick up, and that wasn't much, she was either totally insane or he was just stupid:

"Captain Hitsu-… Hollow… boy… Spiritual Pressure… incredible…" That was all Edward could pick up in his current state, and it did little to help him understand the situation. Who was that woman? What had just happened? Edward passed out indefinitely again, and woke up a few minutes later.

Edward groaned and pulled himself up slowly from the ground, rubbing his head. His head was aching a lot, and his vision was still slightly fuzzy. He had his eyes closed, as the pain of them adjusting was amplified by his headache, but slowly opened them. He looked up and saw that the strange woman was watching him. She was beautiful, with flowing orange hair and ample cleavage! She stepped over to Edward, who was having trouble averting his eyes.

"Oh, you're awake!" she said happily, putting away her phone. Edward remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"I must say, that was amazing!" she swooned, grabbing his hands and grinning.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" Edward asked awkwardly, not having remembered any of the past events.

"You mean you don't remember?" she asked in surprise. Edward shook his head slowly, and then spoke:

"Who are you? I've never seen you before, are you new in town?" The woman paused to think, as if she was deciding whether to tell him or not. She looked into his eyes, and seemed to have made her decision. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Matsumoto." The woman turned around, and Edward looked over her shoulder. Behind them was a young boy dressed in a black kimono with a white overcoat. He was short, and had striking green eyes and white hair is a fashionable style. Matsumoto grinned and let go off Edward's hands. The boy looked at Edward, who was staring questionably.

"Is this the one you spoke of?" he asked, looking over Edward observingly. Matsumoto nodded in reply, and looked over to her left. Edward followed her gaze, and gasped in shock. In the distance was a body lying on the ground; it was Edward!

"I-is that… me?!" he asked in shock. The boy looked over to the body, and nodded.

"Yes, it is. And that just makes you more interesting…" Edward was in a panic, and in a cold sweat.

"Why?! Why am I so interesting?! I'm just a schoolboy!"

"Just a schoolboy…" he said quietly "Matsumoto, what do you think?" The woman looked slightly shocked, but gave her response professionally

"If anyone can shed some light on this, it's Soul Society. He needs to be there, we can't ignore this." The boy nodded, and lunged at Edward, knocking him out quickly.

"Matsumoto, the Senkaimon."

When Edward awoke, he was in a strange place. It looked like a contemporary Japanese home, but it _felt_ different. The air smelt… better than it did in Karakura Town, more fulfilling. Edward looked around, and saw that he'd been lying in a makeshift bed on the floor, and that he was dressed differently. He seemed to be wearing tailored robes, of a beautiful design. He slowly got up and stepped out of the door. It led into an official looking room, with a large desk and sofa. Edward looked around, but had his attention drawn by the large doors opening. In stepped the two people from earlier, the boy and the large breasted woman. She noticed Edward's presence and grinned welcomingly

"Good morning!" she exclaimed happily "You slept like a baby!"

"Yeah, well I did have some _help_." Edward said, glaring at the small boy behind Matsumoto.

"We weren't sure whether you were with or against us. It was simply a precaution." The boy said calmly, taking his seat at the desk. Edward huffed, but got over it quickly.

"What… is this place?"

"This is Soul Society, home to the Soul Reapers." The boy explained "All souls that leave the World of the Living end up here, and are protected by the 13 Court Guard Squads."

"The Soul Reapers…? You mean the Shinigami? They're real?!" Edward cried in disbelief. The boy nodded, and continued his explanation

"Our job is to guide the passage of souls to Soul Society. We usually deal with Pluses, who are spirits ready for passage, but occasionally we meet Hollows like the one you fought. They are spirits who have been corrupted by feelings of regret or grief."

"Why am I here?" The boy's face darkened slightly, and he detailed his reasons:

"Last night, a Hollow was found in Karakura Town. Matsumoto was present, and went to fight it. In her fight, she was incapacitated. According to her report, your soul was ejected from its body as a result of the Hollow's abilities. We don't know how you did it, but you quickly defeated the Hollow with only a finger!" Edward looked at his feet, and thought on what he just said. Could he really do that?

"You're Spiritual Pressure was like nothing I'd ever seen before, not even from my captain!" Matsumoto said, nodding towards the boy as she spoke. Edward stared in disbelief.

"He's your _captain_?! He's like 10!" he cried. The boy growled in anger, but seemed to calm himself immediately.

"I am Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, and while you are in my care, you're life in in my hands. So I'd appreciate keeping the comments to a minimum. Got it?" The room seemed to get colder, as if someone had frozen it. Edward regretted his words quickly, and slunk back. "Now, we've bought you to Soul Society because of these past events. You single-handedly took down a Hollow with what looked like Shinigami powers, but you're clearly not a Soul Reaper. According to my lieutenant, you have a great amount of Spiritual Energy, but I can sense much, if any, from you now." Edward sat on the sofa and stared at Toshiro in awe. He couldn't remember anything from the night before, so was what he said really true?

"So what now?"

After Edward's situation was 'explained' to him, he was taken to a large building further into Seireitei. Toshiro called it the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, and it was headed by a strange looking Soul Reaper named Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Edward was sat in a chair and hooked up to several monitors and computers. Edward just set there tapping out a tune of his legs, whilst several scientists were working hard at their computers.

"So what's this all for?" Edward shouted out, smirking as his echo bounced around the room. Captain Kurotsuchi huffed tiredly, and responded patronisingly

"These, boy, are being used to measure your Spiritual Pressure. My equipment can find Spiritual Energy from miles away, and this is one of my most precise versions."

"The _'boy'_ has a name." Edward replied angrily

"I do not care for you, or your name." Mayuri sighed, tapping away on his keyboard. Edward had already taken a strong disliking to this guy; he could tell they wouldn't get along.

"Isn't there anyone else to do this?" Edward whined to Hitsugaya, who was observing. He groaned, and looked to his feet

"This department in under Captain Kurotsuchi's direction, and we must respect that; so no." he replied, sounding bored.

"Whatever" Edward said, leaning back on his chair.

An hour had passed since Kurotsuchi began his testing, and Edward had reached his wit's end. He was sleeping soundly on the chair, but was awoken by a loud shriek. Edward flinched and fell out of his chair, taking a few of the wires with him. Hitsugaya had fallen asleep too, yet somehow he accomplished this standing up. Kurotsuchi was eagerly clutching some papers and reading over several more.

"I, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, have solved this mystery!" he cried, clenching his fist victoriously. Edward pulled himself up and pulled the remaining wires off his body.

"What do you have to report, Kurotsuchi?" Hitsugaya asked officially, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Kurotsuchi bundled his papers together, and began his explanation.

"Based on my sense alone, this boy has little to no Spiritual Pressure; he's nothing but a normal human being. But according to these readings, his Spiritual Energy is off the charts." Kurotsuchi looked over to Edward, who was listening with great intent "It seems as though his true power is hidden away inside him, locked away. His battle with the Hollow seemed to draw out this power, as a defence mechanism, but it quickly hid itself away. A short stay in Soul Society should unlock his powers, if he is willing to of course."

"A short stay? How long is a short stay?" Edward asked

"About two months; one if we're lucky."

"What?! I can't stay here for two months! I have a family, they'll think I've gone missing!" Edward cried.

"This is true; we can't take the boy from the World of the Living for too long." Hitsugaya sighed

"I have a name!"

"Is there any way this procedure can be performed in the human world?" Kurotsuchi looked back at his papers, and then came up with an answer.

"Yes, but this may elongate the period unnecessarily." He replied, slightly annoyed that his orders were being ignored "He would have to remain in soul form for a long while, and have regular contact with both Soul Reapers and Hollows. The high levels of Spiritual Energy should have the same effect on him, in theory."

"So I'm going home?" Edward asked smiling

"For now, but we'll have our eyes on you, boy." Kurotsuchi said almost menacingly


	3. Chapter 3

Edward was sent back to the World of the Living quicker than he was sent away, and put back into his life as if nothing had happened. He woke up at 8 like he usually does, had his regular breakfast and arrived at school totally… normally! He spent the majority of his time looking over his shoulder, expecting to see Kurotsuchi behind him with a surgical needle and that strange smile which had invaded many of Edward's nightmares. There had been no sign of the Soul Reapers watching, even though Hitsugaya had made sure Edward knew that they were around. Edward smirked as he remembered the events after Kurotsuchi's work.

Kurotsuchi had given his report to both Hitsugaya and someone he called the 'Captain-Commander' Yamamoto. He seemed important, as Edward was whisked away to see him soon after the readings were delivered. It was strange, a small black butterfly informed Matsumoto of the news. It seemed that this was how Soul Society communicated, but Edward only saw the higher-ups using it. Edward was taken to a large building in the middle of Seireitei, where he was bought into a room containing simply a desk and chair. An old man was sitting at the chair; he had several scars and a long white beard. Edward felt slightly scared of the man; he could feel a certain power emanating from him. Edward was stood next to Hitsugaya, who was filling Yamamoto in on his situation. He had kind of phased out for a few seconds, and forgotten most of what was said, but was bought back by an official sounding order.

"Hitsugaya, Edward will be assigned to your squad. I'm entrusting you with bringing out Edward's hidden powers." Hitsugaya groaned loudly, and dropped his head.

"Thanks for that Tosh" Edward sighed to himself

"My _name_ is Captain Hitsugaya." He replied angrily "And while you are in my squad you will address me as such!"

Edward chuckled as he remembered Hitsugaya's evil looks.

"_I guess he's my captain now" _Edward thought _"The question is: what now?_" Edward looked at his window as he listened to the sounds of his class happily chatting. The sound was oddly comforting; it reminded him that all was normal. He comfort suddenly died down, and Edward looked around. His classroom had gone totally silent, and were all staring at the door.

"What are they all- Oh, dear god!" Standing in the doorway was a tall woman with large breasts and orange hair, smiling cutely in the doorway and making a peace sign with her right hand. Edward practically lunged out of his chair and tackled her into the corridor, shutting the door as he went. Matsumoto sat up whilst rubbing her head

"You're eager aren't you? If you wanted a hug you could've just asked!"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Edward shouted desperately

"My Captain sent me to keep an eye on you, among other things…" Matsumoto answered

"What things?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise…" she whined

"What _things_?"

"Well, Edward Smith." Matsumoto said standing up "I will be your 'Shinigami Battle Buddy' until you unlock your own powers!"

"Did you come up with that yourself…?"

"I will personally take you to battle the strongest Hollows, and use my high Spiritual Pressure as your source of power!"

"Couldn't they have sent someone less annoying?"

"Edward, under my tutelage, you will become one of the greatest Soul Reapers in history!" Matsumoto cried, taking Edward's hands and jumping up.

"Wait, how could they see you? Normal people aren't supposed to see Shinigami, right?"

"This is a Gigai, a temporary body we Soul Reapers use." Matsumoto explained, modelling it slightly and fixing her uniform (and yes, she was wearing the school's uniform). Suddenly, Matsumoto's Soul Pager sounded, signalling a nearby Hollow. Matsumoto grinned excitedly

"Let's get started!" She pulled out a small green pill, took it and then donned a red glove.

"Hey what's that f-" Edward started, before being slapped by her.

Edward's soul was taken by Matsumoto to a nearby park, where a large Hollow was reaping havoc. Edward was sat on a nearby park bench as Matsumoto dealt with the beast. Although the spectacle should have been amazing, Edward couldn't help feeling slightly bored. Matsumoto was clearly showboating, with her flips and swordplay, but Edward was still uninterested. She saw this and sighed, deciding it was time to end this.

"Unare, Haineko!" she shouted, as her sword turned to ash. The ash quickly floated around the Hollow, and with a flick of her wrist the Hollow was cut open and defeated.

"What was that? You're sword turned to ash!" Edward asked, suddenly interested in the events. Matsumoto sheaved her sword and turned to face Edward.

"Ever Soul Reaper wields a Zanpakuto. They are not just weapons, they are spirits; they're alive. This is Haineko, and what you just witnessed was my 'Shikai'; her released form. Understand?"

"Uh… sure. So, where do you get a Zanpakuto? Is there a shop?"

"No, of course not!" Matsumoto laughed "Every Shinigami initiate is given a Zanpakuto they mould into their own."

"So when do I get mine?!" Edward grinned.

"You need to unlock your Shinigami powers first. Do you feel anything?" Edward paused, trying to see if he _felt_ his power. There was nothing, not even an echo.

"…no, nothing…"

"I see... Well there's no point in dwelling on it! We've got class!" Matsumoto exclaimed happily

"You're _not_ coming to class with me!"

Edward managed to avoid Matsumoto for most of the day. He knew she'd catch up eventually, but he didn't want to have to make a scene about it. It was the end of the day and Edward was about to make his way home when a memorable voice was heard from above him:

"Yoohoo! Edward!"

"Oh no…" Edward sighed, turning around and seeing Matsumoto in her black kimono. She jumped down and ran up to Edward, who was seriously considering running for his dear life.

"Rangiku! How are you?" Edward feigned, putting on his best grin.

"Great! You missed it; I just took on a Hollow; big one too! You could've watched, it might've helped"

"Yeah, shame I missed it. Next time I'll-. Oh…" Edward groaned and tried to hide his face slightly.

"What is it?"

"Those kids there. They're part of this group that _enjoy_ picking on me." Matsumoto looked over to where Edward was pointing and saw four kids kicking over a rubbish bin. They turned and upon seeing Edward, snickered and walked over.

"Do you want me to-?"

"No, no. It's fine. They'll just make some silly jokes and leave. If I'm lucky that is…"

"Well now, if it isn't Frenchy!" a boy said. Edward groaned and rolled his head back

"For the last time, I'm English!" Edward sighed

"Don't act smart; while you're in our country you're under our rule!" another cried, shaking his fist

"Do you seriously believe-?" Edward began, before a blow to the stomach shut him up

"Don't talk back!" Matsumoto watched the events as her anger grew. She stepped up to Edward as the 'leader' of the group threw a punch. She grabbed his fist and threw in back as the boy gasped.

"How-how did you do that?!" he cried, looking around for a sign of the assailant. He shouted in terror as Matsumoto knocked out one of his friends and kicked another down to the ground.

"Run!" The group fled like the cowards they were, and Edward grinned as Matsumoto threw a stone at the most further back.

"Thanks for that. Don't worry about them, I'm used to it."

"Why didn't you do anything? You're much bigger than them!"

"I'm not like that. I've always been the quieter one. Think first, shoot later."

Edward returned home to his mother's house. He opted not to return to his father's, not wanting to deal with his nagging. His mother happily greeted him with his dinner, and Matsumoto disappeared to find her Gigai. Edward's mother was a kind woman, who often went out of her way to help others. Edward had only seen her shout once: when her husband left. Edward sat down to eat his food, but was interrupted by a loud shout:

"Eddy!" Edward grinned and turned around to see his little sister, Clarice, running down the stairs. Clarice was 9 and the sweetest girl Edward knew. If Edward was ever unhappy, he could rely on her to cheer him up. Clarice jumped the last two steps and ran over the Edward, hugging him quickly.

"Hello, Clarice! You seem happy!" Edward said, struggling to stay on the chair as Clarice jumped on him.

"I am! Teacher said my painting was the best in class!" Edward laughed and finished his dinner as he listened to his sister's day. Listening to such a normal story made him forget his troubles and powers.

Edward was sitting on his bed listening to some music and reading a book. He hadn't seen Matsumoto since she helped stop those bullies, so he finally had some time to himself. Clarice had been sent to bed after helping mom tidy up. Edward was happy relaxing when he was shook by a loud crash and a deep rumbling. Edward jumped on his bed and sprinted downstairs, where he was greeted by a horrific sight…

A large hole had been taken out from his house, and rubble was thrown all about the living room. Edward hastily looked around and suddenly heard a horrific scream.

"Mom!" Edward ran outside through the hole and saw his mother, in the hands of a Hollow. She saw Edward standing among the destruction, and reached out to him

"Edward! Run! Go, now!" Edward sped out towards the Hollow, not thinking straight or considering the consequences. He was about to engage the monster when he heard a voice from behind him:

"Eddy…?" Clarice was standing outside the house, crying in fear.

"_Oh no…"_ Edward thought. Clarice screamed as the Hollow swiped at Edward. Edward heard the cry and spun around in time, ducking under the attack quickly. He looked up and saw the Hollow growl, tossing his mother aside. Edward dived to catch her, and managed to soften her fall. He leant her against the wall and turned back to continue his fight. He looked around to find a weapon, and managed to pick up a simple wooden sword. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it, but maybe he could stall until Matsumoto got here. He turned to face the beast, and defiantly readied his sword.

A few moments later and Edward was left panting on the ground, covered in grazes and marks. The Hollow was left almost unscathed, and Clarice was now bawling her eyes outs.

"_I'm not going to make it out of this alive. I've just got to get it away from Clarice and my mother, then I'm… ready to go."_ Edward thought, knowing when his time had come. He turned around and his heart dropped, as the Hollow made a grab for Clarice.

"_No…"_ Edward thought in dread. He quickly sped to Clarice's aid, raising his word to block the Hollow's attack. As contact met, Edward was covered in a stunning white light. Clarice covered her eyes against the strong glow. When she looked back, Edward had changed. His school uniform had become a deep black kimono, and his dainty wooden sword had become a magnificent katana with a light blue hilt. His injuries had healed almost completely, and he stood with a newfound confidence and power. It was beautiful and… horrifying. Clarice couldn't stand up because of his vast Spiritual Energy and Pressure. Edward looked up as the Hollow, and pointed his sword towards the sky.

"Denryoku no nagare kara tachiagaru*, Tenkezunami!**" Edward's katana glowed white, and it quickly reformed. The straight and narrow blade lengthened and a crescent moon grew out from the hilt. A large chain grew from the base of the sword, which connected to a dagger which Edward held in his left hand. The dagger was long and intricately designed, with Japanese symbols cut into the metal. Edward skilfully threw the dagger at the Hollow, piercing through it chest easily and cutting it open. Its blood flew everywhere, but Edward didn't let up. He leapt into the air and bought his sword swiping down, defeating the Hollow and purifying its spirit. Edward marvelled at his handiwork for a few seconds, and then promptly passed out…

*'Rise up from the streams of power'

**'Heaven-cutting Waves'

(A now for the note I should have added a while ago! As you will probably know, Bleach is Japanese, and therefore is spoken is Japanese. This series will obviously be in English, but several things will remain in Japanese. Zanpakuto names, release commands and important nouns will remain in Japanese, and new ones will be written in Japanese too. I will translate any original nouns/verbs, and put them below the story. Ok! I've finished breaking the immersion!)


	4. Chapter 4

Edward woke up in his bed the afternoon after his battle. He sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in his lower abdomen. Once again his memory was foggy, but this time Edward could still recall the main events. It seemed that his encounter with the Hollow finally unlocked his Shinigami powers, but Edward still didn't _feel_ like a Soul Reaper.

"_What am I supposed to feel like? Do I, I don't know, look like a Soul Reaper? I don't feel any different…"_ Edward thought to himself, looking at his hands.

"Oh, you're awake!" Edward jumped in his bed, hitting his head on the backboard. He looked around, not seeing where the voice was coming from, before looking out his window. To his 'delight', Matsumoto was now sitting on his window ledge and smiling.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Edward asked angrily

"What do you mean?" Matsumoto asked innocently

"I had to take on a Hollow myself! My sister was almost killed!" Matsumoto sighed and looked out into the distance.

"I was… engaged elsewhere. I apologise for my absence and I hope you will forgive me…"

"Fair enough, but my family saw everything! They know I'm a Soul Reaper…"

"Oh, don't worry! I've dealt with that." Matsumoto grinned, waving a little toy in front of her.

"What's that?" Edward set, taking it from her hands

"It's a device we Soul Reapers use in instances like this. It allows us to replace the memories of humans if they see too much"

"So, what did you tell my family?"

"Eddy! Didn't you hear? We were attacked by Yakuza!" Edward groaned silently as Clarice told the story of how several gunmen came and attacked their house. Edward couldn't help himself but to smile as she revelled in the 'attack'. After eating his lunch, Edward stepped up to his bedroom, where Matsumoto was lying on the floor.

"What are you doing?!" Edward cried

"I'm bored!" Matsumoto whined, rolling over as she moaned.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?!"

"Take me out! Show me a good time!" Matsumoto pined

"You seriously think I'm going to take you out?" Edward asked with a sarcastic grin, falling onto his bed. He felt stiff and tired, and couldn't think of anything better than just sleeping there. Edward closed his eyes, but was quickly interrupted.

"Please?" Matsumoto asked, crawling onto Edward's bed and leaning on him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Edward cried in fear "Get off me!" Edward's skin went pale as the moon as the door opened, revealing his mother holding a tray of tea.

"Edward, honey. I bought you some- Ah!" his mother said, before screaming in shock. To his mother, a large breasted older woman was crawling over her little boy. Edward threw Matsumoto off him and tried to undo the damage.

"I-It's not what looks like I-"

"No, no! It's fine; my little boy is growing up faster than I first thought!"

"No I'm not! I was just- She was just-" His mother grinned and shut the door, taking the tea with her. Edward looked at Rangiku with a red face from both anger and embarrassment. She was in hysterics on the floor whilst Edward was planning where the hide the body.

"I'm going to _kill_ you!"

"Oh, lighten up! It's funny!"

"You little shit!" After a moment of silence, the pair was both laughing.

"So how about you taking me out?"

Edward took Rangiku out shopping and then for a meal. It seemed as though she had unlimited funds, and bought more clothes than Edward had ever owned. Edward received several jealous glances from nearby men, and a few from women! Near the evening, Edward took Rangiku for a meal at a new restaurant further into town, where he was quickly interrogated about his fight with the Hollow.

"So you unlocked you Shinigami powers!"

"I… think so. Although I don't remember much of it, only that my sword changed during the battle."

"Wow, really?!"

"Is that good?"

"Like I said before, a Zanpakuto is alive. When in its normal form, it is limited by the user. When one becomes powerful enough, they can release it into its true form, its 'Shikai', by commanding the sword and uttering its name."

"They have names?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No, I guess I don't." Matsumoto pondered this for a few minutes, before responding.

"You must have done that by instinct then, and not having actually known your Zanpakuto's name."

"I've a habit of that, haven't I?" Matsumoto chuckled, and continued eating her meal.

"Taking a Hollow on by yourself is impressive, especially without real powers."

"It was, wasn't it?" Edward agreed proudly, smiling smugly. "So what now?"

"We continue!"

Almost an hour later Edward was dragged away to take on another Hollow. He was bought to the park again, and Matsumoto was smiling deviously.

"So, are you going to defeat another Hollow?" Edward asked

"Nope, you are!"

"What?!" Matsumoto lunged at Edward with her red glove, knocking his soul from his body. Edward's soul was now dressed in a Shinigami black kimono, with a white ribbon acting as a belt. In front of him was a giant katana in a deep brown scabbard.

"What is that?!" Edward cried, attempting to pick up the 15ft sword.

"That is your Zanpakuto… But it's too big to be used…" Matsumoto said

"So, what do I do?"

"A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto's size is a representation of their Spiritual Energy. The solution is simple, you need to learn to control your Spiritual Pressure, and reduce the size of your weapon."

Edward stared at the sword lying on the ground, and sat down next to it with his legs crossed. He concentrated on the sword hard, willing it to shrink or transform, but nothing happened. He continued this for several minutes, and was about to give up when a he heard a voice:

"Just breath!" Edward opened his eyes and gasped, realising he was no longer in the park. Instead, he was in a beautiful garden, with luscious green grass, a bright blue sky and a large clear pond. A blossom tree was waving in the sweet wind, and a woman sat by the pond side. She had long black hair and was wearing a beautiful kimono, which was light blue and decorated with silver lining and water lily patterns. She was running her fingers through the water, but then stood and faced Edward.

"Welcome" she said calmly, with a warm smile from her pretty face. A single strand of hair lay over her face, and her deep green eyes seemed to glisten and change.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Edward asked quickly, taking the time to observe his surroundings.

"This is you. This is the world inside of you, where your powers and I lie waiting."

"My powers? You mean my Spiritual Energy? It's here?" The woman turned to the pond and beckoned him towards it, kneeling gracefully. Edward stepped over and looked into the pond. Although it was beautiful and blue, it was rippling heavily and was distorted.

"This pond represents your Spiritual Energy. As you can see, it is clouded and unclear; there is no control, no harmony. Until you learn to control yourself, it will remain this way, and you'll never gain true power."

"Is that why my Zanpakuto is so big?"

"Yes, I have gotten quite large in the time since you became a Soul Reaper!" the woman laughed, brushing the hair out of her eyes as she did.

"You?! You're my Zanpakuto?!" Edward gasped, looking over the woman in surprise

"Are you shocked? Why else would I be in your world?" Edward sat silently, staring at the bubbling water memorised. He slowly leant over the edge, and looked into the water. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a single finger and tapped the middle of the pond lightly. A single ripple echoed out from that spot, calming the pond as it went. The Zanpakuto spirit smiled, and spoke proudly:

"Well done. You are learning, but I still have much to teach you…" she waved a hand, and Edward felt a force pulling on him, dragging him back to the human world.

"No! I can't go back! I don't even know your name!"

"Patience, young one. You will know when the time comes. Until then, train. Become a true Soul Reaper, and I will offer up my true power to you." She grinned, and waved happily "Come back soon!"

Edward gasped as he awoke, hopefully looking for his spirit around him. Disappointed, he turned back to his sword, which still lay in its large state. Matsumoto was asleep on a nearby park bench, obviously bored by the waiting. Edward looked at his sword, remembering what the woman had told him.

"_Clouded and unclear…_" he said to himself. Tentatively, he raised a finger to the sword. A white light surrounded him as he bought as much of his Spiritual Energy to him as he could muster. _"Harmony. Control. Like the ripples in a pond…"_ Edward rested his finger on the sword, and a bright flash shone out. When it subsided, Edward was now touching a brilliantly made katana with a deep blue ribbon-wrapped hilt. Edward picked the sword up, admiring its lightness, and swung it around slightly. He was clunky and untrained, and would probably do little damage to a Hollow by himself, but at least he had a weapon!


	5. Chapter 5

Edward had spent the following week fighting Hollows alongside Matsumoto as his training. She had become much more than the annoying woman he was stuck with and he now considered her like a sister to him. Rangiku was a powerful Soul Reaper, and skilled with a blade, worthy of the title of lieutenant of the 10th Division. She was doing her best to train him as a Shinigami, but they both knew she wasn't cut out for it. Matsumoto was messy and unmotivated, much happier to sit and do nothing than to actually teach. Edward needed a better teacher as soon as he could find one, and one wouldn't be coming for a while.

It was a cold day when Edward was training with Matsumoto- well, training was a harsh term- when he had finally lost his nerve. Rangiku was supposed to be improving his swordsmanship, but was asleep on the ground instead. Edward was practising a form she had probably made up when Edward snapped at her:

"Oh I'm sorry, am I boring you?"

"What do you mean?" Matsumoto said slowly rolling over

"You've done nothing but sleep all day, while I've been training my ass off!"

"How dare you!" she cried, jumping to her feet "I've taught you all I know!"

"Bullshit, you've just been distracting me whilst you sleep!"

"That being so, I've taught you important forms that is the most important you can learn!"

"Why you lying piece of-"

"Matsumoto!"

Edward and Rangiku quickly turned around and gasped. Standing there in the bright sunlight, looking almost too majestic, was Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of the 10th Division.

"Captain!" Rangiku cried in shock

"Tosh!" Edward cried in joy. Hitsugaya's magnificent arrival was suddenly broken by Edward's greeting as he replied coldly

"Edward Smith, I see you're still ignoring my commands!" he mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Oh, um, sorry about that…" Edward replied slowly "Sorry, but why are you here?"

"I came to see how your Shinigami training was going, but I think I've seen enough." Hitsugaya turned to Matsumoto, who seemed almost relieved that he was there "Matsumoto, you are an awful teacher."

"What?!" she cried, clutching her throat in feigned sadness, secretly relishing the opportunity to stop teaching him

"I cannot leave Edward to train under your 'tutelage'. You two will return to Soul Society-" Hitsugaya began, then turning to Edward "-and you will train under my teachings."

Edward was sent home to collect his things before going to Seireitei. He wasn't exactly sure how his belongings would be any good in an unphysical world, but he packed his stuff anyway. He'd explained to his mother that he was going on holiday for a few weeks, and that she wouldn't be able to contact him. Clarice was holding back tears at the concept of not seeing her beloved brother for weeks. Edward waved them goodbye and travelled to the park in secret, where he was meeting the 10th Division leaders. They were both standing there patiently, awaiting Edward's arrival. Hitsugaya greeted him with a nod and a flick of his hair, and Matsumoto greeted him with a wave. Her hand had that red glove on it, and Edward knew what was coming. She hit him quickly and his soul was ejected from his body. Edward's suitcase fell to the floor, and his clothes fell out.

"You bought clothes?" Toshiro questioned, raising an eye at his fashion choices.

"I wasn't sure what I'd need!" Edward replied, rubbing his head as he got up. It may have been him hitting his head, but he was sure that he saw the Captain grin slightly.

"Matsumoto, the Senkaimon."

Edward was bought to Soul Society through a strange door, one that travelled between worlds. He hadn't seen much of Seireitei in his first visit, and was quite excited to see some more. He knew that there were 13 Divisions, and wanted to meet some members of the others. Hitsugaya had other plans though, and wanted to get right down to business, whereas Matsumoto wanted other things… Edward was bought into Toshiro's office as the captain sat down on his large chair. He leant on his desk, clearly trying to look as professional as possible.

"Edward, I understand you have gained your Shinigami powers?"

"Yup! Only took a week!" Edward replied proudly

"And yet you're so untrained… A pity, simply makes my job harder." The boy said. Edward's pride faltered quickly; Hitsugaya was cold!

Toshiro refused to start training until the next day, so Edward took the opportunity to wander off. Thankfully, Matsumoto was sleeping and Edward didn't have to sneak around her. Seireitei was all well and good, but it was a bit… bland. The architecture was beautiful and Edward was impressed, but it was so structured, so professional and smart. If this was the afterlife, why was it so stuck up? Edward was strolling around the streets when he heard a loud cry:

"Slow down, Kenny! Slow down!" In a blur, a large man wearing a tattered robe and a pink-haired girl on his shoulder ran towards him. Edward didn't have time to react, and the collision sent him flying against a wall. The little girl was sitting casually on a building, clearly having foreseen the event. The large guy rubbed his head and pulled himself up, angrily looking over at Edward. He was wearing an eye patch and had strange bells attached to his spiked hair.

"Who's this?!" he shouted while reaching for his sword

"Sorry, I was just walking! I didn't-"

"Bullshit! That was an attack! What idiot attacks the 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki?!"

"All right, all right! You don't have to be so official! I was only an accident."

Zaraki angrily pulled out his sword and released a large amount of spiritual pressure. A large yellow light surrounded him, and the earth shook with the energy. Kenpachi was laughing maniacally, as he companion giggled.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Zaraki's Spiritual Pressure disappeared in shock, and he stared at the unknown Shinigami.

"You-you can stand it?" he said in disbelief, blinking a few time in shock.

"Clearly" Kenpachi stood silently for a few moments, but then began to laugh.

"It's been a long time since someone has been able to stand against _me_!" he said, sheathing his sword "What is your name, Soul Reaper boy?"

"Edward Smith. I'm –err- new, I suppose."

"Edward Smith, I look forward to fighting you!"

"Fighting?! What do you-?" And with that he was gone…

Edward shook off the strange events and continued down through the city. He was following what he assumed was instinct, and eventually reached the outer wall. It was a giant green structure, and Edward felt slightly weaker while standing next to it. He stood there for a bit, expecting it to lift or something, but nothing happened.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Can you open, uh, door?" Edward shouted _"I'm talking to a door"_ He stepped over to it and tapped it; it sounded horribly heavy. Edward stepped back and looked at the structure, weighing his options.

"_I could… jump it?"_ he thought _"Matsumoto could jumped higher than this, so why can't I?No, that's stupid, that's mad! This whole place is mad, so who knows?" _ Edward stepped back and looked at the large wall, taking in its size. He had no knowledge of hoho, or kido, or zanjutsu, or anything really, but maybe he could just… _try_. Edward used his Spiritual Energy and concentrated on his legs, strengthening them and letting him jump as high as he could. Little did he know, Tenkezunami was secretly lending her strength as well, smirking as Edward cleared the wall with ease. She sat on the wall nearby, invisible, just… watching.

Edward had easily cleared the wall, but hadn't figured out the next bit… the landing.

"Crap!" Edward shouted, falling quickly to the ground. He hit the ground hard, leaving several cracks on in it and dirtying his kimono.

"Way to stick the landing, Edward…" he said to himself, brushing as much of the dirt off as he could. Edward looked back behind him, marvelling at his skill, before getting his first look at the rest of Soul Society.

"Th-this is Soul Society? It's a dump!" The Rukongai district was the lowest area of Soul Society, but also the least controlled. People there lived freely, but they lived barely. As Edward walked through, he couldn't help but feel awful about the people here, and what they were going through. His guilt was lessened slightly by the blow to the head he had just received…


	6. Chapter 6

Hitsugaya was at his desk busily looking over his squad's listings and schedules. Most captains would give these kinds of jobs to their lieutenants, and use their time to do something more useful, but Matsumoto was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Toshiro sighed tiredly as he finished the last of his work and leant back on his chair slightly. Looking over at the large sofa, he saw his lieutenant napping comfortably. He picked up an apple left on his desk and launched it at her, quickly awakening her.

"Yes, captain!" she cried, jumping up to attention and trying to ignore the growing lump on her forehead

"Matsumoto, I'm done with my work. Where is Edward? We can begin training now."

"Edward? Um, I haven't seen him. I was… busy, of course!" she said with an awkward smile

"Yes, of course." He replied sarcastically "Now, where could he have gone?"

Edward groggily woke up and blinked a few times. The room his was in was dark and mostly empty, minus a few tables and chairs. He looked around and spotted someone sitting in the corner, drinking some tea. Edward made sure not to reveal that he was awake, and instead thought about getting out. He quietly tried to move his arms and legs, but they were bound in rope. To a trained Soul Reaper, this would be no issue, but Edward hadn't learnt how to control his vast Spiritual Energy and therefore couldn't use it to break the rope. He saw his sword lying in the corner in its golden sheath, totally out of reach.

"_Damn it, I'm trapped. I knew this was a stupid idea from the start, why didn't I listen to myself?!"_ Edward thought to himself, continuing to struggle against the bonds. As he did, he accidently knocked over a pot lying near him, breaking it on the wooden floor. The man put his tea down and looked over at Edward, who was cursing himself under his breath. He looked uninterested and opened the door next to him with a sigh, calling out to an unseen friend

"Hey Boss? The kid's awake."

A fairly large man confidently strode into the room. He had a large beard and was wearing a blue vest and a belt over cheap black trousers. From his speech you could tell he was uneducated, and he seemingly relied on his musculature instead of planning and strategies. He looked at Edward with contempt, and spat next to him before speaking

"Soul Reaper, Welcome to the Rukongai District, somewhere you ain't never stepped foot."

"But, you found me here, right?" Edward questioned, secretly stalling in the hope that someone would find him.

"Well… yes, but… That's not the point! You're only here to 'alp us makes some money, alright?!"

"And how do you intend to do that?" Edward replied, deliberately flaunting his superior intelligence. One of the few things Edward prided himself in was his brains, being one of the smartest kids in his year. Only last year, he placed 8th in the school's rankings. He hadn't many friends, so distractions from studying were scarce.

"It's simple! We's going to walk straight up to 'Seirairtee', show your stinkin' ass up to the bosses, and collect our money."

"Hostage plan, how original. Just one problem, I'm new. No one cares about me!" Edward lied, attempting to discourage his assailants. Yamamoto himself had shown an interest in him, and would probably hand over some money. If he didn't kill them first.

"You're new?! But your sword! That thing's powerful, I can feel it!"

"Really?" Edward asked quietly, looking over at his Zanpakuto. Everyone kept telling him how powerful he was or could be, but he never really considered it.

"_Am I really as powerful as they say? I'm just a schoolboy, not some godly Shinigami!"_

Hitsugaya had decided to search for Edward himself, since Rangiku was unreliable in anything. He couldn't track his Spiritual Energy whilst is Seireitei, because of the Sekki-seki walls, so he knew that he was over the wall.

"_Edward Smith, why must you blatantly disobey me?"_ Hitsugaya thought to himself, huffing tiredly as he Flash Stepped into Rukongai District. He gracefully stepped out of the air onto the ground and looked about. The place was empty, except for a few peasants quickly hiding in their homes. Toshiro sighed; the Soul Reapers bought every one of these souls here, yet they feared them like monsters. Hitsugaya sensed Edward large Spiritual Pressure east of where he was standing, and headed that way with haste.

Edward was left to his own vices whilst his lumbering idiot of a captor made his plans. He had managed to shuffle closer to his Zanpakuto, and had attempted to try and cut his bonds crudely. He quickly gave up after slicing open his right hand. A few inches lower and he would have cut his artery, and then he'd _actually_ be in trouble. He lay there grimacing at the pain, whilst his blood trickled over the floor.

"_Shit. This is bad; if I don't stop the bleeding, I'll be killed! Wait, can the dead die? Am I technically dead? Then what am I worrying about?" _Edward thought, attempting to reconcile himself _"Of course they can! I was hurt a lot when I was training with Rangiku; I've got to be careful... Has it gotten colder in here?"_ Rukongai District was pretty warm, at least in the day, but the room had suddenly gotten chillier. An icy breeze was drafting in from the doors and the gaps in the walls. Edward could now see his breath, and he knew exactly why he was so cold.

"He's coming!" Edward said, elongating the vowel mockingly to annoy his captors.

"Whaddya mean?! Who's coming-?" His captor began, before the door blew away from its hinges. In the light of the sun stood Captain Hitsugaya, once again looking much too majestic for his own good. Edward grinned as he saw his Master in the doorway, whilst the souls near him quivered in fear.

"Edward, I see you've settled in well" Hitsugaya said mockingly, looking at Edward in slight askance

"It's nice to see you too, Tosh!" Edward replied, knowing that it would anger him. Toshiro grumbled, and then turned to Edward's captors and drew his sword. They were shaking in fear and one had suspiciously wet trousers.

"Explain yourselves!" he ordered, stepping over to them. Toshiro was tiny in comparison, but still bought fear into their hearts.

"W-we was just looking after him, you majesty, Captain, Soul Reaper, sir!" the leader said.

"Are you going to untie me?" Edward piped up, being ignored anyway

"Run along, peasants, before I change my mind!"

The men ran for their lives away from the house, stumbling over several obstacles as they went. Toshiro huffed, and looked back to Edward, who was watching patiently:

"You took care of that quickly!" Edward noted, moving back to allow his captain to cut his bonds.

"The Rukongai District is dangerous for a rookie like you; you should have waited for our training first."

"I was curious! Besides, they snuck up on me!" Edward replied, attempting to retain some of his pride. Hitsugaya just huffed again, and pulled Edward up onto his feet. Edward brushed dust of his Shihakusho and stumbled after Hitsugaya, who had already began making his way back to Seireitei.

"Zankensoki: the Shinigami fields of combat. _Zan_ refers to the use of a Zanpakuto in battle. This is called 'zanjutsu' " Hitsugaya explained, pulling out his sword "This is Hyorinmaru, my Zanpakuto. Have you learnt your sword's name?"

"No. Well, uh, yes. But then I forgot."

"Forgot?!"

"It was an instinct thing; I just kind of… knew it. I don't think it was really me, I think my Zanpakuto did most of the work for me…" Edward looked at his sword lying in its scabbard, remembering his meeting with Tenkezunami (although he still didn't know her name).

"I see" Hitsugaya responded, sheathing his sword "_Ken_ is the use of one's hand and body in combat. Those skilled in this area need no weapon, and call it 'hakuda'. Next is _So_ or 'hoho', which is the use of movement in fighting. The Soul Reapers can move faster than sight can follow, and stand on the air itself." Hitsugaya demonstrated by flash stepping behind Edward and quickly tripping him up, before returning to his original place. Edward grunted in pain and quickly jumped back onto his feet

"The final element of combat is _ki_ or Kido; the use of spells in combat." Edward perked up slightly at the mention of magic, having enjoyed the concept for a while. "There are two types of Kido, Hado and Bakuda: Hado for direct attacks and Bakuda for support. Toshiro lifted his two fingers up at faced them at Edward.

"Bakuda 1: Sai!" Edward's arms locked behind his back and his legs clamped. Edward fell to the floor and wriggled around trying to break the spell.

"Now, ready for training?"


	7. Chapter 7

Edward shouted in fear as he ran as fast as he could away from the assailant, which happened to be his master: Toshiro Hitsugaya, brandishing his Hyorinmaru scarily. Edward tripped over a fallen root and only dodged his next strike by a hair's width

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Edward screamed, jumping to his feet

"Yes, now learn to fight back before I _do_!" Hitsugaya replied coolly.

"_You've got to do it! Come on, just block his sword, and fight back now!"_ Edward spun around and put his sword in his path, using his other hand as support. He met Hitsugaya's sword and blocked it, struggling against the intense force of his attack

"Good! Now, fight back!" Toshiro flash stepped away and wasn't seen. Hitsugaya was hidden, and Edward couldn't see him anywhere.

"You must learn to sense me, sense a person's reiatsu!" Edward panted and looked around, desperately looking for his captain.

"_Sense him, sense him!" _Edward closed his eyes and concentrated. He once again found his own power, and used it to search for Toshiro.

"_Got you!"_ Edward stepped quickly to the left and sliced right in a curve. His sword made contact with Hitsugaya, cutting open his side. He flash stepped into view, and smiled

"Good! You've mastered sensing reiatsu." Edward grinned proudly, and sheathed his sword "That was the easy part…"

Edward crawled out from the large crater he had just created and coughed smoke from his lungs.

"How was that?!" he joked as he stood up

"Don't joke! This is serious; a Soul Reaper must master Kido to be useful in combat!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I can only explode so many times!" Hitsugaya sighed again and began his fifth explanation of an apparently simple concept

"You must control your Spiritual Energy. Yours is incredible, and if you do not master it, it will consume you!" Edward huffed and recreated the Kido position again, facing his palm outwards and holding his wrist:

"You Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31: Shakkaho!" As Edward spoke the spirit chant, he concentrated on limiting his vast energy. Instead of an explosion, and red ball of light appeared in his hand. He laughed, and quickly sent the energy out. He left out too much of his energy though, and the spell quickly fizzled out. Hitsugaya groaned, and spoke disappointedly:

"Maybe that's enough for today, we can work more on Kido tomorrow."

"No! I can do this, I promise!"

As Edward made the same position, he felt a hand grasp his wrist. To his surprise, Tenkezunami was standing there smiling.

"Concentrate Edward; let the power flow through you!" Edward felt a surge of both power and confidence as both him and Tenkezunami spoke the chant:

"You Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" Feeling a burst of power, the spell grew in his hands "Hado 31: Shakkaho!" The spell fired away from his palm and quickly destroyed the mannequin in place as a test dummy. Hitsugaya gaped at the demonstration, before speaking:

"No one... No one has ever used such power in their first go!" he then smiled "You've a lot of potential, Edward!"

"Thank you!" Edward said to the spirit, but she had already disappeared. Edward then turned to his mentor, and spoke boastfully "I think I've got a knack for this!"

After several more hours of gruelling Kido training, Edward was afforded a little freedom. He felt like he was carrying a ton of bricks and was fairly certain that was Toshiro's next part of training. Every part of his body was stiff, and he was close to collapsing

"_Is this what being a Soul Reaper's like? It's gruelling!"_ Edward turned a corner past the 10th Division barracks and bumped into Rangiku, who was apparently taking another 'well-deserved' break.

"Hi!" she said happily.

"Oh, hi Matsumoto!" Edward replied happily, waving with his less damaged arm

"You look horrible! What happened?!"

"I was training… with Tosh…"

"Ah, I see! How was it?"

"Well, apparently I'm pretty good at the kido stuff, not so much with the hakuda bit. Tosh beat me to a pulp every time…"

"Aw, I missed it?!" she asked with a grin, pouting her lips slightly

"Shush, this is my only break! Don't make me go back there!"

"I could teach you!"

"What do you mean?"

"I could teach you! Seriously, I'm good for something, you know!"

"Rangiku, no offense, but I've been taught by you before. It didn't end well."

"I'm not trying to overtake my captain, just teach you something pretty cool. Something _he_ doesn't know!"

"It's called Tenran, Hado 58. It creates a tornado from your Spiritual Pressure, and it uses your Zanpakuto as part of it. Like this." Matsumoto pulled out her Zanpakuto and let go. Instead of dropping, it floated there and with a tap her sword began spinning. Edward could feel the wind from it even now, and then Rangiku got serious. She grabbed the sword suddenly, pushed it out and shouted the command:

"Hado 58: Tenran!" A large blast of wind spiralled out from the sword, blowing a few tiles out from the walls.

"Oh, that's going to cause some problems…" Rangiku sighed. A loud voice was heard in the distance, as a group dispatched by Hitsugaya to punish the pair were sent.

"Run!" Edward and Rangiku sped away as the group gave chase. Edward was keeping up well with Matsumoto, up until she got bored. She looked at him with a smile, and waved two fingers:

"Bye-bye!" she said, before flash stepping out of sight

"You bitch!" Edward shouted, as he continued running. The group was fast on his toes, and Edward had an idea. He stopped in his place, and pulled out his sword. He left it floating, and then tapped it to send it spinning. Grabbing it, and thrusting it towards the speeding group, he gave his command:

"Hado 58: Tenran!" The force of the wind coupled with his large reiatsu sent the group flying high into the sky. Several of them cursed him, whilst the rest screamed. Edward laughed half-heartedly, knowing that he had now offered Hitsugaya an excuse to kick his ass even harder than in training.

"_I think I might be cut out for this Shinigami business!"_ Edward said to himself, and with a grin, he ran for dear life.


	8. Chapter 8

Clarice was sitting on the ground by the river that ran through Karakura Town. She had been depressed since Edward went on holiday, and had spent almost every night waiting by the river for him to come home. Her mother had explained that he was simply on holiday, and would be home soon, but Clarice didn't believe her. She knew that something was up, and simply refused to not wait for her big brother. She was clutching her knees and patiently waiting for him to return. It was getting late, and she knew she had to get home before dark. Tears left her eyes as she knew she had to go, and spend another night with her Eddy.

"Eddy, you said you'd play with me on holiday…" she said sadly, beginning to cry.

"You're such a cry baby, Clarice. It's no wonder I didn't play with you!" Clarice looked up, and through her tears she saw her big brother Eddy.

"Eddy? Eddy!" she cried, jumping up and hugging her big brother with all her might. "Eddy! I missed you so much! I have so much to tell you! Like yesterday, in class, my teacher told me- No, wait! I've got something better to tell you! In all started yesterday, when mummy was making stew, and-!"

"I missed you too, Clarice. I missed you too." Edward said, as Clarice continued her wild stories.

Edward returned home, after finally exhausting Clarice of her vivid tales of life in school, and greeted his mother on the doorstep. The greeting was what you'd expect of a mother doting over her child, and Edward was lucky to get away from her when he did. He quickly fled to his bedroom, and hid himself in there. He looked around his dainty little bedroom and smiled. Life in the human world was far removed from that of Soul Society, and Edward wasn't sure what he thought of it.

"_Is that what I'm calling it now: the 'human world'?"_ Edward thought, slightly panicked at the thoughts of leaving his world behind for Seireitei and the Shinigami. He hadn't been kicked out of Soul Society or sent back for any reason officially, but Hitsugaya had said that his lessons would progress better at home. Edward knew his incident with the squad may be contributed, but he didn't mind. In fact, he was thrilled to see his family again; he was even excited to return to school a few days from now. He lay on his bed happily, before being disturbed by his sister running in. She bought him milk and cookies, shouting about how she'd remembered more stories for him and prolonging his time before a well needed rest.

School the next day was interesting; Edward began looking at everyone… differently. He wasn't sure if it were pride or worry, knowing that he was expected to protect them from Hollows.

"_You're getting arrogant, Edward."_ He thought to himself _"But maybe a little arrogance is a good thing…"_ Edward knew he was being smug, and knew that it was wrong, but he secretly revelled in it. Edward thoughts changed when he felt a strange presence nearby, one that turned his stomach.

"_A Hollow?!"_ He looked around and slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out a small green pill. Popping it into his mouth, his soul was ejected and he sped off the find the creature.

He found it in the nearby park, destroying some of the children's play area. Edward knew he would have no problem dealing with it, and quickly began to attack it.

"Hado 33: Sokat-" he began, but was suddenly cut off. The voice left his lips, and he couldn't speak or move.

"_This feeling; this power! What is it?!" _he thought. He slowly turned around, and saw two figures running towards him: a small, dark haired girl and a bright orange haired boy with a sword as big as him. They ignored him and sped past, dispatching the Hollow artistically.

"_Ichigo? Rukia?" _Their power was beyond immense, and it practically destroyed Edward. He quickly sped away, running to where he could hide, knowing that he just _had_ to get away. He hid in a nearby bus shelter, tiddling his thumbs in fear and worry.

"They were so… powerful! How could- how could he be so strong?!" Edward said to himself, stuttering and stumbling over his words "I thought… I thought _I_ was strong?" Edward looked at his hands in confusion, not knowing really what to do or think.

"No. I have to get stronger. I have to- I have to be able to face him!" Edward jumped up with a newfound purpose, and sped off to find another target.

He sped around a corner, skidding suddenly to a halt as he felt another Hollow.

"_You're mine!"_ He thought, as he ran full speed due North. There was a large Hollow chasing a young spirit through the streets. Edward pulled out his sword, leapt over the shocked girl and engaged the Hollow. It had 6 arms and a large tail, spiked with a pincer; overall it resembled a large scorpion. It swiped at Edward with one of its arms, and he only narrowly ducked under it.

"I really should've paid attention in Hoho class!" he said regrettably, before only just leaping over a second attack. "Okay, time the jump!" Thinking quickly, he prepared for another attack, this time jumping _on_ the arm and running up it. He remembered was Rangiku said, about how he had to aim for the head, and lined up the strike. He was about to attack when the Hollow's pincer came up to strike him. Edward was struck down and his sword knocked away, out of sight and reach.

"_Crap!"_ Edward quickly adapted, and recreated the kido position:

"Ye Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Truth and temperance, upon the sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!" Edward felt his energy go into the blue ball growing in his hand "Hado 33: Sokatsui!" A large flash of light was followed by the Hollow's shriek. In took of his pincer and three of his legs, but it wasn't dead. Edward was about to attack when he felt that familiar, but horrifying Spiritual Pressure again. Ichigo and Rukia ran slowly past him, but Edward stopped them.

"No! It's mine!" Edward cried, stepping out towards the monster. "Bakuda 1: Sai!" The monster flipped on its back, and its legs curled in.

"Who are you?! What is your name?" Rukia shouted, as Edward faced out his two fingers.

"Edward!" he replied happily, picking up his sword that he'd spotted nearby "I'm in your class!" Edward bought the sword down and split its head, killing it and sending the soul to Soul Society.

Edward sheathed his sword and walked away with pride. When he was sure he was out of sight, he let down his defences. He breathed heavily and fell to the floor in pain, not being used to using two spells and hoho in such a small period of time.

"How do they… do this all the time?!" he said, panting heavily "Rukia, Ichigo. They seem so… strong!"


	9. Chapter 9

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were on an important mission in the human world, and were travelling through the industrial area of Karakura town. They weren't particularly sure of what they were looking for, but had received reports of attacks on both Pluses and Soul Reapers. The pair paused on a rooftop to decide their next cause of action:

"Captain, we've been searching for hours and haven't found a thing! Maybe the reports were wrong?"

"Perhaps you're right, but we cannot return without some information on the attacks."

"Aw, really? But it's so _boring_ out here! Why can't we-?" Matsumoto was cut off by a piercing scream in the distance.

A little girl was being attacked by a man dressed in strange attire. The girl was a soul, so the intelligence was correct at least. The man was menacingly brandishing one of his large black gloves, which were decorated with symbols and hummed with a deep power. He was wearing a brown trench coat and a black suit. His hair was a simple, messy black and his eyes were a striking green. He stood tall against both Toshiro and Rangiku, and cared little for the two Soul Reapers as they approached.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" Hitsugaya asked commandingly, grasping his sword hilt. The man laughed carelessly, and turned to face the Shinigami.

"Good evening, soul reapers. My name is Alexander Jiyuni, pleased to meet you." The large man said, offering a handshake to the captain. Hitsugaya nodded, but refused the handshake.

"What is your business here? We've reports of attacks on pluses throughout this district, are you involved?"

"Of course!" Alexander replied honestly with a smirk "Now, if you'll excuse me." The girl screamed as Alexander grabbed her by her hair and brandished his hand again. The glove glowed with an eerie red light and particles of reiatsu began to float from her.

Hitsugaya leapt at the attacker and swiped at him with his sword. The man deftly dodged it but let the girl go, and then turned to face the captain. He frowned mockingly, and then spoke:

"You disturbed my lunch! How rude" Hitsugaya shouted and continued to attack. Each swipe, lunge and slice was easily avoided by the man, who simply smiled as he gracefully avoided him. After a while he stepped back, and grinned.

"I'm sorry, but I simply must be going now!" He smiled and clicked his fingers. His boots glowed with a bright red light and he quickly leapt atop the building. "Au revoir!" he said with a wave, before running off. Hitsugaya attempted to follow the man as Matsumoto went to look after the girl. The man was long gone however, and a quick Konso was all they left with. Matsumoto quickly opened the Senkaimon, and they returned to Soul Society with their information.

Edward was with his younger sister in the park sitting on the swings. Edward had not seen Clarice for the majority of the holiday, and therefore had to spend some time with her. Edward had bought some ice cream, and they were simply sitting there and chatting. Edward was happy to have a slightly normal day after the events of the past few weeks. That ended quickly though, as Edward felt a Hollow appear nearby. He knew he had to defeat it somehow, but Clarice couldn't get involved! He kept an eye on the Hollow and it skulked towards them, and he slowly reached into his pocket to find his Soul Candy. He was about to take the pill when the Hollow suddenly leapt at Edward and Clarice. Edward dived out of the way and took Clarice with him as the Hollow destroyed the swing set. Clarice screamed loudly as Edward rolled to safety, and lay on the ground as Edward stood up.

"_Shit, the pill! I don't know if I can fight him without it!"_ Edward thought, fumbling in his pockets for the small green sphere _"I can't believe I'm about to do this…"_

"Clarice, remember that green sweet I just had?"

"Yeah! Was it nice?"

"I don't know, I lost it, can you find it for me?"

"Is this a game?!" she asked excitedly

"Yes, yes, a game. Now, hurry!" Clarice ran off to find the pill, and Edward stood to fight off the Hollow.

Edward stood against the beast as Clarice fumbled around for the pill. Edward wasn't sure how exactly he planned to fight the Hollow, or if he even could, but he could at least keep him off until Clarice found the pill. The Hollow roared and quickly swiped at Edward, who back-flipped away from the attack and landed on his back, before losing his balance and falling over. He scrambled up and tried a Kido spell:

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" Edward adjusted his footing and tried to concentrate his reiatsu, before shouting and casting the spell:

"Hado 63: Raikaho!" There was silence, and nothing happened. Edward stood there with a blazing face as the Hollow stared at him. The spell hadn't worked and whether it was him being in his body or he simply couldn't perform the spell was irrelevant; the Hollow laughed, and spoke in a deep, menacing voice:

"Little Shinigami actor! Your words are feigned, but amusing nonetheless!" he laughed again, and Edward groaned.

"Eddy, what are you doing? Is this a new game?!" Clarice shouted, pausing from her search to look at Edward puzzled

"Jus-just look for the pill…" Edward replied with a sigh.

"Oh, I found that ages ago. I was playing with this butterfly instead, I got bored!" Edward glared at Clarice in anger, and spoke through gritted teeth:

"Give. Me. The pill!" Clarice giggled and tossed the Soul Candy over. Edward quickly swallowed the pill, and was ejected from his body.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!"

A blast of energy was fired at the Hollow, which quickly stumbled back and fell over. Edward bought out his sword and ran to attack the assailant, while the soul went to protect Clarice. The Hollow used one of its large arms (there were four of them) and swiped at Edward quickly. Edward Flash Stepped to his left, avoiding the attack and putting the Hollow out of balance. Edward had taken to Hoho well, but could still only use Shunpo over small distances. He quickly leapt up to the Hollow's head, and swiped up with his sword held in his left hand. The Hollow's face was split and it was defeated, and Edward quickly returned to Clarice and his body.

Edward returned home and quickly went upstairs to his bedroom. He'd managed to exhaust himself during his fight with the Hollow, and wanted to rest. As he sat on his bed, he took out the pill and looked at it thankfully

"You've saved my arse so many times and I've never actually met you" he said to the Soul Candy "I think- I think I should meet you soon. Maybe just for a bit."


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't like the air here, it stinks!" The mysterious Alexander was standing on a skyscraper overlooking Karakura Town accompanied by a teenage girl in skimpy clothing. She sat unimpressed on the edge, drooling over it and sighing.

"Why are we even here?! The plan's not ready yet! You're just wasting my time; I could be doing more important things, like-"

"Like what, Adrienne? Dancing to your crappy pop music?" Alexander snapped, glaring at her as she huffed.

"So, why _are_ we here?" she asked, crossing her arms in protest

"There's something I can't put my finger on about this place. The reiatsu is so plain, so… ennuyeux, but there's this one boy that's… different. I've fought Soul Reapers before, many of which were far stronger than this kid, but still… his power is… _different!_" Alexander looked deep in thought, before speaking uncertainly "If I had to guess, I'd say he didn't get his powers from the Shinigami. He got them… somewhere else. He could be useful to us, if we were to find where he really _did _get them from"

"So we're going on a treasure hunt?" she said sarcastically "Will Natsume be joining us?"

"No, no. We need him working, if he doesn't finish the weapon soon…"

"I know, I know! The plan'll fail and we'll be killed" Adrienne sat this in monotone, as if she'd heard it a thousand times "Now, can we go? I feel like I'm choking."

Edward flipped back off a Hollow's arm and almost, _almost_, avoided the second Hollow's strike. Instead, its tail knocked Edward 50 feet away into a wall, which smashed on impact. His sword was launched far away from him and stuck into the ground. Edward groaned and slowly pushed himself out of the rubble, sighing when he noticed his missing Zanpakuto. He quickly Flash Stepped behind the two beasts and recreated the Kido pose:

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" A red light blasted from his palm and managed to hit one of the Hollow's square in the back, knocking it over and probably causing serious damage. In his pride, he was oblivious the second Hollow's grasp, as it picked him and began to crush him. Edward got one hand free and began an incantation:

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" He began drawing the symbols required for the Kido, and when finished he shouted:

"Bakuda 9: Geki!" His body was covered in a red glow and this spread to the Hollow, paralysing it. He then pried himself out from his hand and leapt for his sword. He pulled his sword out quickly and killed the fallen Hollow, before then defeating the paralysed one too. Edward sighed, grinned victoriously, and then sheathed his sword:

"_Two at a time; that was fun…" _Edward said to himself tiredly _"It's been almost a month and I've heard nothing from Matsumoto or Tosh! They better have a good excuse next time I see them!"_

Edward returned home and lazily fell into his body, which was reading a book on his bed. The pill popped out of his mouth and landed in his hand, before he quickly slipped it into his pocket. He groaned as he sat up, clutching his side which had been damaged by the Hollow's strike.

"Having trouble?" Edward looked over to the window opposite his bed, which was now open. Sitting on its windowsill was Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto, the latter of which waving happily and the former looking on unimpressed.

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in!" Edward said angrily, jumping up and walking to the window "Get in here!" Edward grabbed Hitsugaya's coat and yanked him in as Rangiku giggled and followed.

"I am your captain! I will _not_ be treated this way!" Toshiro said angrily, pushing Edward away forcefully

"A month! It's been a month! You trained me for a few weeks then dumped me back here? That's downright evil! Explain, _now_."

"There were reports of attacks from Soul Society, we were sent to-"

"Bullshit! I could've helped! And what kind of attacks that a _month_ to track! I mean, what were you even-" Edward was silenced by a good knock to the head by Rangiku, who then spoke calmly

"My captain is speaking, you will be quiet when he is, OK?"

"OK" Edward said whilst winded

"Thank you, Matsumoto. We received reports of attacks on both Soul Reapers and Pluses in the area, and we came to warn you. They were attacking either indiscriminately, but they all had high Spiritual Pressure. We believe they could target you or your family, be careful."

"Is that it? Are you just going to leave again?"

"No, at least, not the area. We're continuing searches in and around Karakura Town, so you can expect to hear from us soon"

"Oh, you're so… official, you! Can't you just say 'Hey, we're in the neighbourhood and promised we'd train you to be a Shinigami, how's about it?', but no; that's not good enough, is it? You've got to be always by the book!" Edward cried angrily. Hitsugaya was taken aback by the loud response, and was about to speak before the door burst open suddenly.

Clarice sped in carrying something bundled up in her arms. Both Matsumoto and Hitsugaya quickly pulled out their swords, and had to be stopped by Edward. She presented a tabby cat proudly and grinned gleefully:

"Eddy, Eddy! Look what I found! It's a kitty! I don't know what to name it; should I name it? What do you think? Maybe I could name it Kit, or Totoro! Or, or-!" Clarice fired off madly for a few more minutes as the three Soul Reapers looked over the cat.

"That looks ill, _really_ ill." Matsumoto said worried, and she was right. The cat's eyes were slightly glazed over, and it was losing its greying fur in some places. It was worryingly thin and looked tired.

"It's halfway to the grave…" Toshiro said with a slight sadness to his voice. Edward shushed them and tried to speak calmly the Clarice, which was easier said than done.

"Clarice, where did you find it?" he asked

"It's a he! He was lying on the ground near some bins, so I bought him home! I'm going to buy him some cat food and we'll be best friends and-"

"OK, OK! I'll go with you to buy some food later, OK?" Edward reasoned "Now, how about you go show mum?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell mummy!" Clarice ran out of the room again, as the cat gave Edward a look that simply begged for death.

"That cat's going to die soon…" Hitsugaya said, receiving a slight glare from Edward

"She's 9! I can't tell her that!"

"She'll have to find out about death soon! After all, you're a Shinigami; it's your job to carry souls from death."

"Yeah, but not cats! Or, do I? Do we do cats?"

"No" Hitsugaya said with a very 'I'm not amused' look about him

"Can we do cats?"

"No!"

Edward waved the pair off quickly and went downstairs to see the development of Clarice's cat. He found her in tears at the kitchen table being comforted by her mother, as the cat lay motionless on the table.

"What happened?!" Edward asked

"Mummy-mummy said that Mittens is d-dead!" she cried, burying her head into her mum's shoulder. Edward looked at the cat and looked sombrely at the feline. Then an idea came to him, one that would probably get him in trouble later.

"Uh, mum, how about you take Clarice out for ice cream or something?" His mum nodded, and ushered Clarice out to the car as she continued crying.

Edward sat at the table and slowly pulled out the pill. He rolled it in his hands before placing it into the cat's mouth and forcing it further into the body. For a while nothing happened, and then the cat began to stretch, yawn and then speak:

"Oh, hello. I'm awake again. How are you? I don't believe we've met, what's your- Oh sweet lord, I'm a cat!" The voice coming from the cat was overly well spoken and a little arrogantly so. He spoke with a heavy cynical tone, as if he were bored with the proceedings.

"Um, yeah. You're a cat. I probably should explain, you see-"

"I've a tail! And look at me, my hair's falling out! I feel like an old man! Uh, this is disgusting!"

"Well, y'know, my sister found this body in the street, and bought it back. But then it died, and she was upset, so I-"

"You put me in a dead cat?! You peasant! The amount of times I've saved you and you dump me in a cat?!"

"_Did he just call me a peasant?" _Edward sighed

"Either you deal with the cat or I get a replacement, got it?!" Edward snapped, shutting the soul up. Edward calmed himself and then spoke again:

"So, I'm Edward, and you are?"


	11. Chapter 11

Explaining how the diseased cat that had just died on the kitchen table had miraculously come back to life wasn't easy, but it was far from the hardest thing Edward had to deal with. He knew little of the attacks his captain and lieutenant had been investigating, but the culprits had taken a large interest in him. Edward was walking by the river alone after school, with his school bag shouldered awkwardly as he avoided his neckline. He'd been in another fight with a Hollow during school, and thankfully the cat (who had taken to calling himself Shujinku, being a bit of a narcissist) had arrived just in the nick of time.

"_I don't think a cat was the best idea. How is he going to find me if I'm in trouble? I can't take a cat to school! I suppose I could hide him in my school bag…"_

"Yeah, your school bag! That's a pretty cool idea! Might not work though, after all: cats need food!"

Edward flinched and spun around quickly, spotting a woman sitting cross legged on the ground. She was happily eating a rice ball, and smiling smugly. She was dressed in laboratory clothing and had strange glasses that glowed with a purple light.

"Afternoon! How are you? Care to join me?" she said, offering up a second rice ball.

"Who are you?!" Edward shouted, getting into a more ready stance. He was unsure if he should attempt Kido yet, since so far he'd only been able to do it in his soul form.

"Oh, excuse me! I hadn't introduced myself! Misao Natsume, at your service! Well, not at _your _service. I'm taken, you see!" she showed off a large diamond ring which glinted prettily in the sunlight, and glowed with a purple hue as well.

"And you're a scientist?" Edward asked, slowly sitting down with caution.

"Oh, no! I'm just the assistant! My husband's the brains in the relationship, I just provide… _other_ skills." she cracked her knuckles proudly and adjusted her shirt slightly to reveal more of her ample cleavage.

"So why are you here? I doubt it's to offer me food, and how could you read my mind?! Or did I say that out loud…?" The woman giggled cutely, and began to answer the questions:

"No, I'm not here to offer you food- although, I make pretty good rice balls- yes, I can read your mind and you didn't say it out loud!" she answered, tapping her glowing purple glasses "Impressive, huh? My husband made them, he's a smart one!"

"You're not finished! Why are you here?" Edward said, munching on a rice ball (which in truth, were pretty good!).

"Oh yeah, of course. I'm here on a recruitment drive! For you specifically, though. In fact, only you, so the first bit was probably unnecessary. Oh, I'm rambling, aren't I?" she said with an embarrassed chuckle "You haven't met the rest of us, but we want you anyway! We think you're brilliant, if not misguided. I mean, you didn't get your powers normally, did you? No schooling, no death, you just popped up one day with them! Bit weird, isn't it? If this were a story, you'd been the writer were just lazy one!"

"You're rambling…" Edward mumbled, thinking over what she'd said. She was right, Edward's powers were strange, but he never gave it much thought.

"Confusing, isn't it? See, we're a good bunch, we are! We could easily help you find out where your power's came from. Maybe even _why_ you have them! So, whaddya say? C'mon and join us; I'll make you more rice balls!"

"I still don't know who you_ are_ yet!" Edward cried, secretly considering the proposal. He was about to reply, when a cry was heard.

"Edward, get away from her! She's with the attackers!" Hitsugaya ran to fight Misao, as Matsumoto slapped Edward out of his body.

"Wait, _you're _behind the attacks; why didn't you say?!"

"Confidentiality, dear! Got to keep some secrets, haven't I?" she replied calmly, stepping up. Her hand reached behind her back "So Edward, your answer?"

"Hell no! I'd never join with criminals like you!"

"Oh, how righteous." She smirked. Misao suddenly bought her hand out, launching three tiny darts. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto managed to dodge them, but Edward was hit by two of them. As he faded in and out of consciousness, he saw the woman disappear and the Soul Reapers attempt to give chase.

He woke up in a tranquil garden, with a trickling pond and a small bench. Kneelt next to me was his Zanpakuto's spirit, smiling prettily.

"Hello Edward, it's been a while since we last spoke."

"Hello? Why am I here?" Edward asked, wearily pulling himself up  
"Oh, you passed out. I thought it'd be a perfect time for us to speak!"

"How considerate… What d' you want to talk about, exactly?"

"The woman, the one you just met, she's trouble, and so are the rest of her group"

"Are you warning me?" Edward asked, following her to the seat by the pond

"Yes, it's inevitable that you'll meet again. It's my job to look after you!" she said with a chuckle, brushing a fallen bit of hair.

"You're a sword! It's your job to… _cut_ things, I suppose!" Edward said rather rudely, not being one to enjoy being 'protected'

"Oh, I'm much more than that, Edward! If only you'd take the time to learn my name, I could show you my potential…"

"Then why don't you just tell me?"

"I have, Edward, I have. If only you'd _listen_!" Edward hesitated, before speaking again.

"What did she mean, the girl, when she said my power weren't normal?" The spirit's smile faltered, as if she were deep in thought.

"You're not… _ready_; at least, not yet. Don't worry, you're time will come. But first, try to learn my name, OK?" Edward tried to speak again, but felt himself being pulled away.

He awoke back home in bed, with a raging headache. Shujinku was sitting on the desk next to him, licking his paw nonchalantly.

"Oh, you're awake. Took you long enough; I had to deal with your sister! You owe me something for that!"

"Oh shut it, cat!" Edward snapped, rubbing his head in pain

"I've told you enough times, it's Shujinku!"

"Whatever, what happened to Tosh and Rangiku?"

"Oh, they dropped you and your body here and then left. Didn't even wave! Got a lovely view of Matsumoto though, very nice!"

"Oh, you pervert! And them! They left _again_!" Edward cried "Maybe Misao was right…"

From a distance, Misao was standing with Alexander on a rooftop.

"You did well, Natsume. He'll come around soon enough."

"Thank you, Alex, sir!"

"Oh please, don't call me sir!" Alexander said with a huff

"Shush now, no need to get angry. What now?"

"For now, we continue with the plan."

"And what about Edward?"

"Keep an eye on him, track his movements. We'll visit again when the time is right…"


	12. Chapter 12

Edward was panting heavily as he slowly pulled his sword up. He was covered in bruises and aching all over, whilst his attacker remained unharmed.

"This lesson is on Hakuda; combat _without_ a sword."

"I don't need it, I need to learn to fight with my sword!" he said through gritted teeth, trying to keep back the pain. He leapt forwards again and swiped at the attacker, who deftly avoided it. Edward flash stepped behind his target, and attempted to strike, but was met with a punch to the gut. Blood flew out of his mouth, and he fell to the floor.

"You're slow, striking from too far. If you were to get close, I'd give you a shot!" Edward looked at him angrily and flash stepped away, leaving his sword behind

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" A red light shot out from a nearby tree and struck the place where Hitsugaya _was _standing.

"You've been practising! But still, you're not using your hands!" Edward shouted with anger, and jumped at Toshiro. He threw punches and lashed out kicks, but every single one was dodged.

"Good, good! But you're too slow! A good Soul Reaper can use Shunpo and Hakuda!"

"Shut up and let me punch you!" Edward continued his attacks, still striking only air. Hitsugaya was a hundred times faster than Edward, and was going easy on him. Edward eventually stopped, and dropped his hands to his sides.

"I'm done… I-I'm tired" Hitsugaya laughed at Edward mockingly

"I remember when I was like you; unfit, slow and weak! So long ago, I think I was-" Hitsugaya was cut off as Edward quickly straightened up and head-butted him. Hitsugaya fell to the floor and rolled over in shock and pain

"Too slow, huh?" Toshiro glared at Edward with an icy cold fury, as Edward laughed "C'mon, I'll buy you an ice cream!"

Edward and Hitsugaya were sitting on the riverfront nonchalantly- well, at least Edward was. For some reason Toshiro was deeply offended by the notion of the frozen treat, and simply refused to eat it.

"C'mon, eat it! I paid good money for that!"  
"I'm not a _child_, I don't eat _ice cream_!"

"Sure you are! You may be a Shinigami, and you may be hundreds of years old, but look at you: you're a child!"

"You will not address your captain so rudely! I have been captain of the 10th Division for-" Hitsugaya was cut off as Edward knocked the ice cream into his face, earning a furious look.

"Oh shush! Have some fun! You can't spend your whole life just being boring, and I know you guys live for a _long_ time, you've got to lighten up!" Toshiro pondered over this for a while, before standing up.

"Goodbye Edward, you'll hear from us soon." And with that he vanished. Edward smirked and bit and chuckled to himself

"_He took the ice cream; I knew I'd get through to him eventually!"_

Edward found his body and returned home, being loudly greeted by Clarice and a femininely dressed Shujinku. After wiping tears of laughter away and the blood from his newly received cat scratches, Edward went to his bedroom to do some school work. His work had gone down in quality since his training had gotten more serious, and he hadn't the heart to tell his mum that. He had just opened the book when he felt a Hollow's presence close by.

"_Now?! It never ends…"_ Shujinku coughed up the pill and Edward quickly swallowed it, ejecting his soul and jumping out the window. At first, Edward was horrified by the idea of swallowing a pill that had just been in a cat's stomach but he got '_used' _to it. He sped towards the creature's location, and found a large bat like Hollow near some houses.

"Right, let's get this over and done with!" Edward said to the creature, as he sped towards it.

The creature was no problem for Edward; it was what followed that caused him problems. He received little damage from the fight, but a large cut of his sword arm meant he struggled to hold it afterwards.

"_Crap, that thing sliced up most of my arm! I can barely hold my Zanpakuto; I need to get it patched up soon…"_

"Yeah, you do! If you don't soon you'll bleed out!" Edward tensed up as he recognised the voice, and upon turning around he saw Misao again.

"Morning!" she said happily, waving.

"What are you doing here?! I already said I wouldn't join you!"

"Oh, really? I was hoping you'd change your mind about that…"

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!" Misao frowned, but quickly dodged the kido attack.

"Now, now: there's no need for that; you wouldn't want me as your enemy." She said menacingly, clicking her fingers. The gloves she was wearing began to glow, and she cracked her knuckles. Edward flash stepped up to her and swung his sword weakly, due to his damaged arm. The woman grinned, and quickly grabbed the weapon. Edward gasped as she wrenched the weapon out of his hands.

"Is that it?" She said mockingly, before punching him in the gut. The force was immense, and Edward so went flying. He hit the ground hard, and grunted in pain as blood trickled out his mouth.

"What…are you?! How… can anyone…"

"I am a free woman, that's all. And as for the punch, you can thank my husband for that." She said proudly, tracing the glowing glove affectionately "Now, how about it? Joining us, I mean?" Edward responded by spitting in her eye, which she wiped away angrily. She smiled and then gave him an uppercut, knocking him out instantly.

Edward once again woke up in his inner world, being tended to by Tenkezunami.

"Really Edward, you should be more careful!" she said calmly, like a mother.

"It was _her_ fault!" he replied through gritted teeth

"_You _attacked first, and don't deny it! You were always like this…"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, think nothing of it. You know, you'd have a chance if you learnt my name. I don't see why it's so hard for you to just _listen…_"

"Well maybe it you _told_ me"

"I _have!_" Edward said with a scoff. The two looked at each other and laughed.

"You're hopeless, and about to wake up!"

"Why do you keep bringing me here? It's every time I pass out now!"

"Just to check up on you, that's all."

"It's more than that, isn't it? Can't you just tell me?!"

"We'll meet again soon, trust me. In the meantime, _try_ and remember my name, OK?" she said with a grin

"Remember?! What do you mean, remember?!"

"All in good time, Edward, all in good time!"

Edward awoke with a gasp, lying on the floor in the street. He was in a puddle of his own blood, and felt too lightheaded for his own good.

"_Shit, I'm dying. I need to- I need to get… home!" _ Edward thought, before once again losing consciousness.

Alexander stood on top of the hill with Adrienne, looking on at the passed out Shinigami.

"Boy, Misao really did a number on him!" she said with a chuckle "Do we leave him? His captain must be around here somewhere, right?"

"Yeah, but we're not going to let him bleed out until he gets there. That's much too rude!" he said with feigned worry "We'll take him with us, take him to see Natsume"

"And watch him cut him open?"

"Hopefully not, but you know what he's like. He gets… carried away from time to time"

"Alright then, I'll grab his legs." She jumped off the high building and gracefully landed on the ground near Edward.

"Wow, he's a cute one! And look: his robe has come loose. It's a nice view, I suppose. I can see his-"

"Adrienne! Don't be filthy!"

"But I haven't ever seen one! And it's not too small… Maybe I could just…"

"Adrienne!"

"Oh, fine! I'll meet you back at the base…"


	13. Chapter 13

Matsumoto leapt down from Edward's roof and gracefully landed on the windowsill. She was carrying a bag of cupcakes and was looking for Edward:

"Hey, Edward! I bought cupcakes, they're really yummy, I thought because I hadn't seen you for so long, you'd want to-" Rangiku stopped as noticed his absence. She slipped into his room and looked around, leaving the cakes on his dresser.

"Strange, he usually _always_ here around this time. Maybe he's still at school?" she said to herself, looking over his desk for some clues. She spun around in shock as she heard a voice from behind her:

"Mummy, is Eddy home yet?" Clarice and her mother had just stepped into the room, presumably to look for something, and Clarice was visibly upset.

"Sorry Clarice, he's- he's just with some friends, OK? I'm sure he'll be back soon." Clarice nodded sadly, and walked out of the room. Edward's mother sighed, and spoke to herself

"He's been gone for days, where could he have gone?" she said to herself sadly, before walking out. Matsumoto gasped worryingly, and leapt out of the window.

"_Gone for days?! He's in trouble; I've got to find him!"_

Edward slowly woke up and pulled his sore eyes open. He groaned in pain as he pushed himself from the bed. As he became aware of his surroundings, he began to panic. He was lying in a luxurious bed in a well-kept room. It was adorned with old paintings and classy décor, far more expensive than anything he'd ever seen before. He sat up worryingly and saw himself sitting in a chair opposite, drinking tea calmly.

"Morning! You've been asleep for days, after they patched you up." Edward looked over his body, which had its robe left around its weight. His chest, arm and abdomen was wrapped in bandages (some of which were blood soaked) and he had no plasters of his face.

"Who did this? Where are we?"

"Who knows?! I was dragged from your room blindfolded; I haven't been allowed out of this room!" Edward pondered Shujinku's testament, and tried to pull himself off the bed. He groaned and huffed, but managed to stand up eventually.

"Easy now; go to fast and you'll open your wounds!" Shujinku said worryingly

"Was that concern? That's new from you…"

"Hey! If you die, I'm stuck like this. I'd rather die in your place!"  
"Keep that up and I'll see to it!"

Edward looked around the room analytically, trying to find an easy exit. The doors were locked, the windows bolted and the walls reinforced; even with his added Shinigami strength he did little but dent them. His captors hadn't come to visit yet, which gave him plenty of time to figure out an escape.

"Wait, my sword! Did they take it?!"

"Nope, I've got it right here!" Shujinku said proudly, pulling out the Zanpakuto. Edward glared furiously

"You had that the whole time and you didn't _tell _me?" he said as calmly as possible, whilst gritting his teeth

"You didn't bring it up! How was I to know?" Edward sped over and yanked the sword out of his hands harshly. He quickly unsheathed the weapon and began beating down the door. Its power and strength quickly destroyed the door, and the pair ran out of the room.

Matsumoto had returned to Soul Society to enlist her captain's help. He gasped at the news, and quickly returned with her to the Human World. Once they returned, Matsumoto began her tracking Kido to find Edward. She drew a circle with four symbols in different quadrants, and chanted the required words:

"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain!" She slammed her hands onto the circle and shouted the final part:

"Bakudo 58: Kakushitsuijaku!" The circle glowed with a bright blue light, and numbers began to appear inside it. Matsumoto looked deep in thought as she read the numbers to herself, before leaping up victoriously

"Follow me! I know where he is!" The pair shot off towards Edward's location, who himself was working on means of escape.

Edward, who had now fled his bedroom, had wondered into a form of main hall. There was a large chandelier and two balconies on either side, connecting as a middle balcony that was led onto from large wooden doors. The large red front doors seemed unlocked, and Edward ran straight to them. He was stopped as he heard a voice behind him, along with several other presences.

"Where are you going, Edward?" Edward spun around and saw five people standing on the balconies. The man standing at the large door spoke first:

"Bonjour! My name is Alexander Jiyuni. I don't believe we've met." Edward replied by pulling out his sword, which earned him a smirk from the man "Let me introduce you to my… colleagues. You've already met Misao…" he said, motioning over the Edward's attacker "The young one standing beside her is Adrienne, she's new." Adrienne was standing cross-armed, judging Edward silently "The scientist over on the other balcony is Natsume" Natsume was lanky, and wearing an ill-fitting lab coat. He slouched, and the light glinted off his glasses menacingly "The _large _one is Pierre, my brother." A huge man grinned at Edward, who was scared to return the gaze. The man was at least 7ft, and built like a tank. He oozed power, and Edward was terrified of his size.

"Why have you bought me here?! I already said I wouldn't join you!" Alexander laughed, and leapt down from balcony. His boots glowed as he touched the ground, clearly breaking his fall. He stepped over to Edward, who responded by attacking.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!" The large blast of blue light shot quickly out from his hand, and towards Jiyuni. Instead of trying to avoid the attack, he simply lifted his hand up. The attack was absorbed by the glove, and he laughed at Edward's shock.

"Is that it? You aren't using your power, are you?" he said inquisitively "No, you're avoiding it!" Edward was shocked at the statement, mostly because it was true.

"You're avoiding using your true power, why? Are you afraid? Or is it simply that you don't know how? Are you so stupid that you can't use your own power?!" he asked rather threateningly "You're powers are useless if you're so weak!" Edward was still shocked by how easily he blocked the attack

"How did you- How did you block my attack so easily!"

"He didn't!" Misao shouted proudly from above "You can thank my husband for that! All our equipment absorbs Spiritual Power and improves our abilities! Isn't that neat!?" Edward looked back worryingly, knowing he had no way to fight back.

Matsumoto and Hitsugaya were nearing the building where Edward was quickly. They didn't know of the group's numbers or plans, and wanted to both rescue Edward and learn of their capabilities. The house came into sight, and Rangiku began to pull ahead.

"Matsumoto! Calm yourself, haste won't rescue him any faster!"

"He's in danger! Besides, he can barely fight! I can't leave him, it was _my _job to look after him in first place!"

"No! He was under my squad's protection, so he was my responsibility! Worry not, his captors have no idea what's coming!" They reached the house and the pair hesitated in shock.

"_This Spiritual Pressure! It's immense!" _Toshiro said to himself, as a bright light shone through the windows of the building.

Edward had been kicked back by Alexander's attack after refusing his invitation another time.

"You can't fight, you can't win! You can't even stand up!" he cried, kicking him over. Edward coughed blood, but slowly pulled himself up despite Jiyuni's heckling

"Why won't you join me!? I'm offering you so much, all I ask is your commitment!" he cried in anger, grabbing Edward by his neck

"Looks like… you haven't been told 'no' in a while!" Edward said positively, trying to keep his humour as to not give in. Alexander screamed and, charging his glove, threw Edward across the room. He hit the wall, and this time couldn't get up.

"_Shit! These guys are tough, I can't even stand! How can I fight them?"_ Edward said in panic, until a voice appeared in his head.

"My name! Say my name!"

"_I don't know it! You won't tell me!"_

"I don't have to, you know it." Alexander was stalking over with a fury in his eyes.

"My name, say it!" Edward closed his eyes, as the answer and a power came to him. He began to glow with a white light, as he spoke with a new strength

"That's it! Say it, say it!"

"Denryoku no nagare…"

"Yes! Use my power!"

"… kara-kara tachiagaru!"

"Rise, Edward! Stand and fight!"

"Tenkezunami!" A stunning light shone out as Edward regained his power, and learnt a new one. He could feel his new power, and knew exactly what needed to be done.

He flash stepped to Alexander and swung his lengthened blade. It was now surrounded by water, and each strike could cut rock. Alexander had trouble avoiding the attacks, and Edward quickly flipped back to take advantage of this.

"Kancho to, Mushoku no yari*!" Edward spun the sword's dagger around his head, generating a whirlpool of water. When it had grown sufficiently, he quickly dug his sword into the floor, and at the perfect time he gracefully kicked the dagger. The water formed a large spear over it, strengthening the weapon tenfold. Alexander was hit full blast, and he was thrown into the wall by its power. Edward sheathed his weapon, and left the building but not before addressing Alexander

"_That _was only a taste of my true power. Stop your plan, you've been warned."

*Low Tide, Colourless Spear!


	14. Chapter 14

Edward had returned to Soul Society with Matsumoto and Hitsugaya (after returning home briefly to check on his family) to plan what to do next. He was a valuable source of information, and Seireitei needed it if the group planned to do anything serious. He was escorted hastily to Yamamoto's office and made to explain what he knew:

"They- They called themselves 'The Free'. Five of them, at least, that's all that were there. They may have been more, but they weren't mentioned." Honestly, Edward was nervous simply standing around the Captain-Commander. He emanated power and authority, and Edward was sure Yamamoto could kill him before he even noticed he'd moved.

"So they were just ordinary humans? No powers?" he asked calmly

"No, nothing, but their weapons are dangerous. From what I've seen, they just improve their abilities. Things like boots and gloves and glasses, each improving a related body part. I think it runs off Spiritual Power or particles or something; the boss managed to absorb by Sokatsui and use it against me."

"I see. Did they speak of plans? Objectives?"

"Not really, only that they planned to 'free the world from the Soul Reaper's rule'" Edward replied, deliberately adding emphasis on the quote. Yamamoto pondered the plan, and then spoke decidedly:

"Edward, you will return with Hitsugaya to the 10th Division barracks and await further instructions. They seem to have plans for you, and we cannot risk you getting harmed. We will have the Onmitsukido observe them and report back soon."

"For how long? I have a family, you know?!" Edward replied angrily

"Do not worry for _family_! Your Soul Candy can deal with them."

"Shujinku?! I'd rather have them think I'd died!"

"Shujinku? Who's that?"

"No-nothing. I'll be going now!"

Edward sighed as he left Yamamoto's office, scurrying away quickly

"_How can one man be so horrifying?!"_ he thought as he quickly left the building. He looked over at the Sokyoku Hill and quickly Flash Stepped over, sitting down over the edge. He was pretty stressed, having been attacked several times recently, and couldn't be bothered with his captain at the moment. He bathed peacefully in the sunlight, until he almost jumped off the edge when a voice scared him:

"On your own?" Edward spun around and saw a captain sitting on a large picnic blanket with a tray of tea, dressed in a floral coat and a large straw hat "Shunsui Kyoraku, at your service! Won't you join me?"

An hour later and Kyoraku and Edward were sitting happily on the ground, nonchalantly discussing Edward's time as a Shinigami. Edward was getting into Shunsui's mellowness a little too eagerly, and was using the time to bitch about his captain:

"I mean, he's what: twelve? He acts like a king, a king who's never even seen an ice cream until a few days ago!" Edward said

"Noted, but Toshiro's wise. You should respect him, most of the time of course!" he said with a chuckle

"And his name! That's annoying too; he expects me to call him by his full name _all the time_! I just call him Tosh; much easier."

"I only know one other who calls him that, and she's allowed. It'll get you in trouble one day." Edward scoffed, and sipped his tea

"This is good tea! I don't even like tea…"

"Thank you, it's my own recipe after all!"

"It's good, I might have to borrow it from you."

"No chance!"

"Shouldn't you be with your captain?" Another voice spoke from behind the pair, who turned around to see who it was. A tall man stood there, with snow white hair and unusually dark eyebrows

"Ukitake! Did you come here to join us?" Kyoraku said, offering up a cup of his tea

"No, I was out for a walk and I had the misfortune of spotting you!" he replied with a chuckled

"Your words cut me!" Shunsui said with a feigned pain

"Are you going to introduce me?" Jushiro said, nodding towards Edward who had just spilled some of his tea of his robe.

"Oh, of course! Ukitake, Edward. Edward, Ukitake!"

"Great introduction, Raku…" Edward said, already deciding on a nickname for the 8th Division captain "I'm Edward, part of 10th Division, and you?" Edward said, jumping up and bowing respectfully

"Jushiro Ukitake, 13th Division captain. Nice to meet you, Edward!"

"Are you and Raku friends?"

"Best friends!" Shunsui dropped in with glee. Jushiro smirked

"Apparently so. Are you headed to the 10th Division barracks? If you'd like we could-" Ukitake was cut off as he began to cough up blood, bending over in pain.

"Shit! Jushiro?! Jushiro, are you OK?! Stay here, I'll get Unohana! Raku, look after him!"

"Ah, don't worry about it! He'll be fine."

"Are you kidding me?! He's dying here! He needs help!"

"He's always like this. Oh, here we go! Help's already here!"

Two squabbling lieutenants appeared, a man and a woman, arguing over their captain:

"I should be the one to carry him! After all, I am a man; we are stronger!" The man said proudly, flexing slightly to prove it

"Ha! Don't make me laugh, you are my lesser! I should have the honour of carrying my master!"

"Will one of you fucking carry him before he coughs up his lungs?!" Edward shouted angrily, receiving the dirtiest of lucks from the pair. They both picked him up, gave one last glare, and Flash Stepped away.

"Well, that was fun…" Kyoraku said, fixing his hat

"I'm- I'm going to go now. It's been fun, Raku!" Edward said, feigning his worry for Jushiro

"Do I get a nickname now? I'm going up in the world… See you soon, Edward. I hope we can do this again soon"

"Maybe without the blood" Edward replied, bowing respectfully and dropping down from the hill, in the direction of Hitsugaya's division.


	15. Chapter 15

Edward arrived at the 10th Division barracks and went looking for Matsumoto or her captain. The barracks were rather large, and Edward was struggling to find them. He had gone down his fifth corridor when a voice spoke up behind him:

"You lost?" Edward turned around and saw a teenage looking Shinigami with turquoise hair and large brown eyes. She wore her long hair down over her shoulders, and her white hilted Zanpakuto was strapped horizontally across her hips.

"People keep sneaking up on me at the moment! It's becoming a habit, but yes: I'm _a bit_ lost…"

"Where you 'eaded? I can take you there." She asked with a strong cockney accent, which Edward latched onto quickly

"Are-are you from London?" he asked with a grin. The girl rolled her eyes tiredly and sighed

"Yes, I was born and died in London, alright? It's 'ardly a crime, is it?!" she said angrily

"Not at all! I'm from England too; finally, someone I can relate with!"

"Seriously?! Brilliant!" she replied, both of them laughing after the brief exchange.

"Anyway, I'm headed for Hitsugaya, can you take me there?"

"Sure thing, this way, posh boy!"

The pair happily chatted on the way to Hitsugaya's office, arriving quickly due to the girl's knowledge of the place. Once they were at the door, Edward remembered something:

"Oh, wait! I never asked your name."

"Rebecca. Rebecca Noble; 4th seat under Captain Hitsugaya, and you?" She said proudly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Edward Smith, no seat-as far as I know- under Captain Tosh!" he said happily, opening the doors to the captain's office and slipping inside.

"Morning, Tosh!"

Toshiro sighed and put down his paperwork, addressing Edward with boredom:

"Edward, how was meeting with Yamamoto?"

"Good! I met Kyoraku as well, and Ukitake- well, sort of." Edward replied happily

"What was said? Did he give any instructions?"

"Just that I should wait here, _'for my own safety' _apparently" Edward said while applying emphasis mockingly

"And presumably you'll have to stay with us?"

"Well, I am 10th division, apparently…" Hitsugaya groaned tiredly, and looked through a large book he pulled off a shelf

"We'll have to find you someone to bunk with, maybe Miyazaki?"

"Wait, bunking? I have to bunk?" Edward said disappointedly

"Yes, of course! Why?"

"Well… I thought… maybe I'd get my own room?" Hitsugaya leant on his desk and stared down at Edward, who felt embarrassed now

"Why's that? Because you've got high Spiritual Pressure? Because they're after you? Does that make you special?"

"N-no… sir" Edward said, too scared _not_ to add sir.

"No, it doesn't, so we'll find you a dorm. Matsumoto will find you when you're placed." Hitsugaya said calmly, continuing with his work.

Edward left the room red-eared and his tail between his legs, horrified after Toshiro's abuse. While he respected his captain, he always thought he had something over him.

"_He's cold!"_ Edward thought to himself _"I guess Hyorinmaru suits him!" _Edward quickly ran down the corridor away from his office. In his haste, he ran into another Shinigami knocking her over and falling over himself.

"Oi! Watch it! What do you think you're- Oh, it's you!" The Shinigami said, looking up and being revealed as Rebecca.

"Hello again! Sorry about that, I just… _spoke_ with Hitsugaya…" Edward replied

"Ha! You got shouted out, didn't you!" she laughed, clapping her hands in amusement

"No!" Edward cried, his face dying red with embarrassment.

"You did! I can see it in your face!"

"So what are you doing?" Edward said quickly, trying to change the subject

"Just going down to the training grounds for some practice, why don't you join me?"

"Sure! I need the practice actually, new stuff to learn." He said happily, tapping his hilt affectionately.

They arrived at the training grounds quickly by cutting through the dormitories. The training ground was comprised of a large dry mud field and a few training dummies, still more than enough for a trainee like Edward. Rebecca walked over to a dummy and spoke

"So you were telling me about your Shikai?" Edward nodded and drew his sword

"Denryoku no nagare kara tachiagaru, Tenkezunami!" Edward's sword lengthened and a crescent moon shape appeared at the hilt. A chain grew out from the base into Edward's hand as a dagger formed inside it.

"Impressive, do you know it's type?" Rebecca asked, pulling out her own sword

"Type? They have types?" Edward asked unknowingly. Rebecca sighed, and then pointed her Zanpakuto up to the sky

"Henka no kaze ni shitagatte kudasai*, Kaze No Oni!**" She bought her sword down and a flash of light changes it. Her sword became a moderately sized pole and a long strip of white ribbon grew out from it, piling slightly onto the floor.

"This is Kaze No Oni, a wind type Zanpakuto. He may look useless, but he can control all the winds and air as a weapon. Have you _any_ idea about yours? Any attacks?"

"Just one, so far."

"Show me."

"Kancho to, Mushoku no yari!" He began spinning the dagger over his head, drew the sword into the ground, and at the right time he kicked it towards a dummy. A large spear of water was created and the dummy was obliterated. Edward looked over to her proudly:

"So, what do you think?"

"Water type, definitely. It's kind of obvious, y'know! How long have you had your Shikai?"

"A day! I learnt it by instinct, I was attacked and had to use it."

"Good! Brilliant, in fact!" Rebecca said with a grin, sealing her sword

"Why's that?"

"We've got work to do! We've got to unlock the rest!"

Hitsugaya looked through his large book for a place for Edward, eventually coming across the last free room.

"Oh, her. I suppose she'll be a good influence, if anything" Hitsugaya said, writing Edward into the book.

"Who's that then? You finally decided!" Matsumoto asked, lying on the sofa with a magazine covering her eyes.

"Not decided, Matsumoto. I just had to find a room for him!" he snapped, accidently shutting the book on his hands which furthered his anger "Now go find him!"

"Alright, alright! You just get no peace here…" Matsumoto muttered, earning an apple to the back of the head from her captain.

*Follow in the winds of change

**Demon of the wind


	16. Chapter 16

The 10th Division barracks were in uproar as several groups of Soul Reapers were sent to the human world. A member of 'The Free' had apparently been sighted in Karakura Town and Hitsugaya responded viciously. He sent several of his best patrols (including a few seated members) and would send Rangiku to oversee it personally. Edward and Rebecca sped to the Senkaimon as quickly as they could Flash Step, but were greeted by a stern Toshiro.

"Captain, captain! We're here, where are they? Was in Adrienne? Misao?" Edward asked quickly, panting for breath

"Apologies sir, Edward 'ere is a bit… excited to fight these guys…" Rebecca said embarrassed, falling into an awkward alert stance.

"It's OK Noble" Hitsugaya said "And Edward: you will not be returning to the Human World. You will remain here with Noble until we return; I myself will be staying behind, and have no issue with you-"

"What?! I'm not going?!" Edward cried, interrupting Toshiro "This is my fight! They're against me, not these guys!"

"Regardless, it's dangerous. You will _not_ leave Seireitei and you _have_ no way to leave anyway, now return to the barracks until further notice." Hitsugaya nodded to Noble and quickly left, with Edward flying curses off at him.

Edward slumped back to the barracks with Rebecca towing him forwards. Edward made a quick detour to find his room number, and upon finding it matched Rebecca his blushed. He went to the room quickly and found Rebecca reading on her bed.

"Uh… there must be some mistake. I've- I've been assigned to… _this _room." Edward said awkwardly. Rebecca looked up from the book and grinned

"Brilliant! That'll be your bed, there. A few rules: one, the bathroom is mine. I call dibs, shotgun and pretty much everything else."

"You-you're OK with this?!" Edward replied in shock

"Yeah, why? Why wouldn't I be? Unless, you don't?!" she cried, mulling ideas over in her head "You got a thing for me!"

"What?! No! No! I don't! I would never date you, not to say it'd be weird to. Not to say you're weird, because you're not… I, uh, promise." He blurted and muttered, going a deeper shade of red than humanly or Shinigami-ly possible. Rebecca snorted with laughter, and continued with her book.

Edward lay on his bed awkwardly, not being able to get or stay comfortable. He hadn't heard anything from the squads, and he was panicking in silence. He had just sat up for the seventh time when he finally lost it:

"I can't do this!" he cried, jumping up from his bed for the fourth time. Rebecca looked up, grinned, and calmly put her bookmark into her book

"Ya finally decided, huh?"

"Whaddya mean?" he said, clasping his sword

"I finished this book twice already; I was just waiting for you to geddup off your arse and do something for once!" She corrected her robe, picked up her sword and attached it to her back "We're going to the Human World; we just need to stop off somewhere first."

The 8th Division barracks were a distance away from the 10th, and Edward remained anxious the entire time. This was his first 'battle-war-type-thing' (as he so accurately named it) unlike Rebecca, who had been in many. He wasn't sure what to expect if he lost or even if he won, but knew that he couldn't let the group continue with their plan, whatever it was. They stepped into the barracks and Rebecca quickly decided on her next path. Edward stumbled over his feet trying to keep up with her as she stepped up to Kyoraku's office. She knocked the door and patiently waiting for an answer. The door was opened by his Lieutenant Nanao Ise, who was unimpressed by the visit.

"What?" she snapped, deliberately keeping the door as closed as possible

"We're here to see Captain Kyoraku; is he available?" Rebecca answered

"No, now go away." She said, slamming the door shut. Edward, at his last nerve, quickly reopened the door and knocking Nanao to the floor.

"Sorry, no time to wa- Whoops!" he cried, earning a horrifying look from Ise. There was a cry from further in of worry and '_love'_.

"Nanao! My dear flower!" Kyoraku practically flew from his chair and fell by his fallen angel, who was bored by the events "Have they harmed you? My darling angel, I would never wish you harm! I will end them in your honour, if only you'd take my hand!"

"Sir, shut up." She replied coolly.

"Your words are like thorns!" Kyoraku stood up dramatically and fled away in tears. Rebecca and Edward, meanwhile, were staring at the proceedings in awe.

"And after the theatrics, Raku, we need you!" Edward said officially

"How dare you address my captain so rudely!" Nanao cried in outrage, looking as though she would slap the pair at the next instance.

"Leave them be, Ise." Kyoraku ordered, changing tone rather quickly "We have unfinished business to attend to…" Nanao frowned, but left the room anyway.

"Unfinished business?" Rebecca frowned looking at Edward

"Of course!" Edward replied, grinning at the captain "We hadn't finished tea! But seriously, sir, we have something important to talk with you about!"

Rebecca and Edward explained their situation to Kyoraku, who was thoroughly interested and in total support. He quickly took them to the Senkaimon, and allowed them passage to the Human World.

"Be warned, if Hitsugaya finds out: he'll kill you… No question!" he said positively "Have fun!" With that he opened the door and the pair leapt through, arriving quickly in the Human World. Rebecca was about to use a tracking Kido, when Edward began jumping between buildings.

"Oi, Edward! Where are ya going?!" she shouted, beginning to follow him.

"He's headed this way, trust me!" The pair made their way north, following the weak Spiriutal Pressure of the target. All the while, Rebecca was planning to herself.

"_How can he do such damage? 'Is Reiatsu is so weak! The way Edward showed it made him seem deadly!" _she thought, questioning the severity of the situation _"Maybe this'll be easy, and we can go home!"_

Edward spotted some felled Soul Reapers and Flash Stepped down to them. A few were dead and most were unconscious, with bruises and broken bones each.

"Who could do this? Such anger…" Edward said to himself, being overheard by Rebecca

"Not anger: pleasure. 'E's enjoying 'imself!" she replied angrily, clenching her fists.

"You've got that right!"

The voice came from a large man leaning against a wall, smoking a large cigar.

"Pierre Jiyuni, at your service." He said in his deep French accent, blowing out the smoke from his cigar. The pair unsheathed their swords, failing to impress the fighter.

"1945 brand cigars; good year, '45. Lot of fun…" he said to the kids

"What? How can you know that?! You can't be _that_ old!" Edward said worryingly. The man smirked, answering the kid anyway

"We've got Natsume to thank us for that, his technology is _fantastique!_" he said admirably.

"You're too much like your brother!" Edward said, about to attack. He ran forwards, but was stopped by Rebecca.

"No." she said coolly "He's mine."


	17. Chapter 17

Edward looked at Rebecca is awe as she pulled out her sword and stepped towards Pierre menacingly. She was aiming to impress, and released some of her high spiritual power and cracking the ground around her. The light yellow light was blinding, but a silhouette of her could be seen raising her sword perpendicularly from her towards Pierre. He was covering his eyes from the light, but seemed unaffected by the demonstration. The light died down, and Rebecca spoke:

"Ready?" she asked honourably; Rebecca held strong senses of honour, and refused to fight an unarmed opponent. The man put up his fists to protect his face, and launched forwards.

The man threw punches at lightning speeds, but the force behind them was made known. Each missed shot made her hair fly and the few that hit winded and bloodied her mouth. She flipped back a few metres away, and raised her sword:

"Henka no kaze ni shitagatte kudasai, Kaze No Oni!" she cried. Her sword became the long ribbon, and she began to flick it around. The air currents and winds were already flowing around it, and Rebecca earned a giggle from his assailant.

"A ribbon? Cute…" he said, beginning another attack. She flipped over him gracefully and spun her weapon. A current of wind blew him off his feet, and he fell onto his face. He sat up quickly, and grunted his anger. He flew at the girl, who cartwheeled away. She was like a gymnast, and Edward was already in fear of her.

After the brief dodge-and-burn tactic Pierre was outraged; he knew he couldn't hit her, and resorted to calling her out:

"Ha! The little girl is too scared to strike?! You're an embarrassment to Soul Society!" Rebecca back-flipped a while away from Pierre, and grinned

"You think this is it? Wrong…" she said with a smirk. She whipped her ribbon slightly, and bought it to her side

"Henkan*, Sutoraiku!**" A light ran up the ribbon and glowed brightly, when is dissipated a large stunning white bullwhip was in its place. She pulled it up and whipped it with a loud crack, scarring the ground slightly. Pierre's stomach turned, knowing that even if he blocked the strike it would still cause damage. Rebecca knew this, and leapt forwards.

Pierre was suffering. Every strike was damaging, and he was covered in cuts and lashes. He was too scared to hit back, but was too weak to continue blocking. After Rebecca finally cut off her attack, he fell to one knee. He was panting heavily, and bleeding from a slice on the right side of his face. His large moustache was split in several places (oddly improving his rugged look). Rebecca looked at him with a scary glare, and pulled the whip to her back

"Have… mercy!" Pierre panted, fearing the girl in front of him

"Mercy? This isn't about 'mercy'! You didn't show mercy to those men, the ones lying dead in the street!" Rebecca cracked her whip, sending sparks flying from a nearby chunk of metal.

"Rebecca, calm down. Just- Just let him go!" Edward warned, feeling the malice in her voice

"Let him go?! Why?! Are you on his side?!" she shouted, pulling her whip to the prime position to hit Edward.

"Rebecca… Look at him, you've won! You don't need to do anymore! Let the Onmitsukido get him later, he'll be imprisoned for the rest of his life!"

"No. _I want to do it_! He _murdered_ my colleagues, my _friends!_" she growled as Edward readied his weapon in defence. She ignored him, and spun around to face the man. Edward knew Pierre was going to Hell for what he did, but didn't have the heart to send him there.

"Rebecca. _Let. Him. Go."_ Edward said threateningly. Rebecca cracked the whip one more time, before speaking:

"Kuki o Katte***, Kaze no Rasshu!****" The tip of her whip began to glow and air began to flow around it quickly. She raised the whip and this time _Edward's_ stomach turned. She lashed the bullwhip, and an arrow formed from the wind launched forwards. Pierre shrieked as it cut through his chest, mortally wounding him.

Rebecca grinned as Pierre fell to the ground, but Edward ran over. He caught him as he fell, and leant him on his shoulder.

"Hey now, come on. You're bigger and better than this! Are you really going to let a _girl_ beat you?" he said with a choke in his voice. He had no attachment to this man, yet felt horrified by the idea of him dying. Pierre said nothing, his pride overstating his will to live. He looked up at the boy before him, smirked, coughed up the last of his blood, and the breath slowly left his body.

Edward lay him down and closed his eyes. Subconsciously, he was rating himself; deciding what kind of person he was, cold or forgiving. On the surface, he was livid.

"What, the _fuck_, is wrong with you?!" he asked through gritted teeth, clenching his fists in rage. Rebecca was sheathing her sword, but hesitated when he heard him.

"What's wrong with _me?" _she asked solemnly "What's wrong with _you?_ He was our _enemy! _He _deserved_ to die! He's a murderer!"

"We didn't know that! How could we know that?! You _killed_ him before we could find out anything!" he said stomping towards her

"I-I thought-" she stuttered, losing faith in her argument quickly

"No, you _didn't_ think. That's the issue here: you're an idiot!" Edward said viciously. Rebecca's anger had turned to tears, and she remained silent.

"Edward…"

Edward turned around and saw Hitsugaya and Matsumoto standing by the body. They both looked sullen, and had probably seen most of the events. Edward had nothing to say to them, or anyone frankly. He walked past them and was grabbed by Toshiro:

"Edward, you don't understand!" he reasoned. Edward ignored him, instead pulling away from his hand and walking away.

"Where are you going?!" Rangiku called after him.

"Home." He said to himself "I'm going home."

*Transform

**Strike

*** Cut through the air

**** Rush of Wind


	18. Chapter 18

Edward leapt into his bedroom window and quickly re-entered his body, placing the pill into Shujinku's cat form. Keeping a cat's corpse under her bed was hard, but thankfully the body seemed to have stopped rotting. Shujinku stretched awkwardly, and spoke:

"Oh, so you're back. Have fun?" he asked innocently. Edward glared at him angrily, and Shujinku quickly realised the situation at hand. "Ah, that bad, huh?"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"Very bad…" Shujinku sighed, pouncing on the windowsill "I'm going out, see ya!" Edward watched him leave and sighed

"_Selfish bastard…"_ he thought to himself, leaning his head on head of his bed. He closed the window to stop the draft, but it was opened quickly.

Edward looked back at his window and saw Hitsugaya sitting there patiently with a sombre look on his face. Edward wasn't in the mood for speaking to _anyone_ at the moment, let alone the captain of his squad.

"Edward, let me explain"

"No, I can't. I won't. I don't, _want_ this anymore. The killing, the fighting, what's the point?! She _murdered_ him, without even checking to see if he actually did those things! She's insane!" Hitsugaya sighed, and spoke seriously

"As you know, Rebecca died in England. She told you that, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Did she tell you she had a brother?"

"No, she didn't mention it." Edward said tiredly

"They both lived in the Rukongai District for about 100 years before Rebecca became a Soul Reaper. Her brother followed soon after, joining my squad a few years after Rebecca did the same."

"So what?!" Edward said impatiently

"He never had the talent his sister did, and was never seated, so Rebecca always felt like she needed to protect him."

"Oh, so she is friendly!" Edward mocked. Toshiro was becoming annoyed at the constant interruptions, and gritted his teeth slightly

"Rebecca's brother was part of the attacking squads, and part of one that directly attacked Pierre. He was killed in the conflict." Edward's face went pale white as he realised the consequences of the news. Rebecca had been traumatised by the news, and had simply gotten her revenge.

"Pierre-Pierre killed her brother? Shit, what have I done?!" Edward said to himself in shock and worry "Wh-What do I do?" Hitsugaya smiled a little, and then spoke calmly and warmly

"Spend a few days with your family. The squad funeral takes place a few days from now; let Rebecca mourn before you apologise."

The pair were interrupted by a Clarice bursting through the door loudly. She was wearing a bright pink floral sundress and seem very proud of that fact

"Eddy, Eddy! Look! Mommy bought this today! Isn't it pretty?! Look at the- Oh, is that a friend? Why is he sitting on the windowsill? That's dangerous; does he want a drink? We have lemonade, I'll go get a glass, one sec!" she blurted out, noticing the diminutive captain and quickly running out. She backtracked soon after however "Oh, and I like your hair! It's spiky; Mommy says you must always compliment new friends, so you make a good first impression! How did you get it so white? Did you paint it? Oh wait, I was getting lemonade! Back in a sec!" Clarice fled again, stomping loudly down the stairs. Toshiro watched her leave, and then pulled down a stand of his hair to look at

"Did she really like it? Hm, she wise beyond her years!" he said casually. Edward was worried however, knowing that Clarice has never seen Soul Reapers before.  
"That's odd, she saw you…" he said quietly

"Yes, so what? Many people have the ability to see Shinigami, why not your sister?"

"She's never seen anything like that before, or at least she's never told me. I'm sure it's nothing, but she didn't react to me killing a Hollow in front of her!" Hitsugaya mulled it over a few seconds before pushing it off

"Don't worry about it; if there is a problem, you know where to find me!" he said jumping off the windowsill.

Edward poked his head out the window and shouted at the captain: "How am I going to get to Seireitei?! Do you have a phone or something?! Come back here, I need- Oh, screw it…"

A day passed and Edward sleepily pulled himself up from his bed. It was a Monday and he was being sent back to school for the first time in a while. Honestly, he'd missed the calm atmosphere and no worrying, but wasn't sure how Shujinku had handled the classwork. He whacked his alarm clock a little too hard and rolled out of bed tiredly. He rubbed his tired eyes, had a shower and slumped downstairs for breakfast with his mum and sister. His mum had cooked waffles, and his sister was wolfing them down faster than what was probably safe.

"Hewwo, Ebby!" she murmured through too much food. She swallowed, took a deep breath and respoke: "Hello, Eddy!"

Edward spoke: "Morning, Clarice! Enjoying those waffles?" She nodded happily, continuing her devouring. Edward has put on his now ill-fitting school uniform and done little to fix his bed hair. Edward tucked into his food when Clarice commented on his new appearance:

"Wow, Eddy! Have you grown?" she said excitedly

"Uh, no, what do you mean?" he asked slightly worried

"You look bigger, just a bit!" she said, trying to fix the issue she thought she'd created.

"It's OK, Edward. You don't need to be embarrassed. You're becoming a man, and you will… change!" His mother said, a tear coming to her eye "You've been working out to impress girls as school, just like a man!" She was now in fully fledged tears, and Edward sighed to his sister:

"Now look what you've done, Clarice! We need to make a quick escape; you take the back door to school and I'll try and get out the front…" They both nodded and went along with the plan, narrowly escaping their mother's floods of tears.

Edward bought Clarice to school and then went to his own class soon after. He stepped inside and took a long look at the place. A group of kids were playing cards in the corner, whilst a nearby group of girls happily chatted amongst themselves. Edward grinned to himself as he watched, and then went to sit at his seat. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Rukia and Ichigo peering at him and chatting.


	19. Chapter 19

Edward was playing football with his class in his itchy gym clothes. They were being made to play football, one of Edward's least favourite sports, but Edward was secretly having the time of his life! Spending too much time in Seireitei was giving him 'people withdrawal' as he had self-diagnosed it, and a simple game of football was enough to remedy this. Well he wasn't actually _playing_ the game, after all he hated football, but just sitting there was fun. He stared contently at the match until he was called on by one of his peers.

"Hey Edward, we need a substitute! Miyazaki got his leg hurt!" The kid was carrying the injured boy, who was following the spirit of English football and milking what was really a superficial injury. Edward sighed, pulled himself off the bench, and ran onto the pitch only momentarily stumbling over his shoelaces.

Edward was put into attacking position and set against the winning team. He refused to play the sport most of his life, and therefore had little skill in the area. Among the shouting and dust he spent most of his time avoiding the ball and simply observing the proceedings. As he laughed to himself the ball was kicked high into the air and no one was available to get to it. Edward watched it fly up and suddenly his instincts kicked in. Perhaps it was him actually enjoying the game, but he decided to go straight at it. Using his Hakuda training he leapt high into the air, spinning several times and then kicking the ball straight into the opposing goal. He landed on the ground gracefully, and stood up to the awed stares of his classmates.

"How did you do that?!" one said. Edward paused before answering, unsure of exactly what to say, before speaking awkwardly:

"I've been-er- working out, a bit…" he said with an unconfident smile, rubbing the back of his neck. He was about to try and change the subject when he felt the presence of a large Hollow nearby. He spun around quickly and saw a large falcon-like Hollow stalking the pitch.

"_Shit, now?!"_ Edward thought to himself, running off the pitch to a cover of a nearby tree.

Shujinku and Edward had an agreement to meet at this tree when a Hollow appeared. Shujinku had an oddly amazing sense for these kinds of things, and was often there before Edward was himself. Apparently a cat could cough up its soul, and Shujinku did just that as soon as Edward arrived.

"That never fails to disgust me…" Edward said in his Soul Reaper form. His body was moving the feline corpse into hiding and replied:

"Yeah, well find another body to hide a person in next time, OK?"

"Oh please, you're hardly a person!" Edward shouted as he ran off to battle the creature. Shujinku tried to say something back but mumbled as he became out of earshot instead.

Edward leapt straight into the air to fight the Hollow. Rushing in too fast, he was quickly batted away with one of the creature's six wings. He skidded on the air and bought himself to a stop, quickly creating the Kido stance:

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" A ball of red energy shot at the creature, which took a large amount of the blast but absorbed some with its wings. It chuckled evilly and spoke:

"Ooh, that was fun! Go again!" Edward scowled, and started another spell:

"Hado 73: Souren Sokatsui!" Two large blue bolts of light shot out from his palm, this time injuring the Hollow harshly. It growled angrily, and spoke with a childlike malice:

"That was mean, you shouldn't have done that! Let's see how your friends think you act!"

"My friends? What do you mean?!" Edward cried. The monster flew high into the sky, and bought it wings back. They glowed with a white light, which rose in opacity. It then thrust them forwards, throwing the energy at Edward. He braced himself against the force, but noticed there was none.

"What was that?" Edward laughed "I thought I felt something then!" The Hollow was giggling however, and pointed with one of its wings at the crowd below.

"Why don't you ask them?"

Edward looked down, and saw his class staring at him in awe.

"Is that Edward?"

"It can't be!"

"Is he flying?"

"What's with the kimono?"

"Is that a katana?!" Edward looked at the group worried, confused as to why they weren't panicking or running from the creature. He turned to the creature, who was laughing maniacally:

"What have you done!?" The creature continued giggling, until it then explained its powers:

"My powers are brilliant, the best! I can make anyone see anything! All those people can see you now, but they can't see me!"

Edward was frozen on the spot, totally confused as to his situation and what to do. He couldn't just begin fighting the creature but couldn't just stay there; his friends wouldn't look away, and wouldn't run either.

"_What do I do? Should I scare them off? No, we couldn't find them all and fix their memories if I try and kill them! Wait… the Hollow!"_ Edward grinned as the idea shot into his head. He sneakily got himself into a Bakudo stance and taunted the creature; attracting its attention and making it launch an attack. The creature swooped down to attack him and Edward Flash Stepped out of the way. He continued this barrage until the Hollow became angry and misguided, which Edward took advantage of.

"Hey, I think you're powers are wearing off!" he shouted. The creature didn't even look at the crowd, but charged up its wings instead.

"Fine! I'll show you!" it cried, firing the power. Edward spoke quietly, using his Bakudo stance:

"Bakudo 8: Seki!" A small orb appeared, which absorbed the energy and fired it back. Edward watched as the creature was revealed to the crowed, which promptly screamed and fled.

"Great, now I don't have to hold back!" he said with a smirk, as the creature screamed in anger. Edward launched forwards with his sword ready, and the creature shook with fear.

Edward walked away from the pitch and went to find his body near the tree. He was about to reach the tree when he heard a voice behind him:

"Oi, blondie!" Edward turned around and saw a small teen wearing skimpy clothing and glowing weaponry.

"The name's Adrienne. Nice to meet you. Shall we get down to business?"


	20. Chapter 20

Adrienne was standing menacingly facing Edward, eyeing him with an eerie look. She was readying her hands near her hips, as if she were reaching for something. Edward slowly unsheathed his sword, and held it 45 degrees from his waist in a battle-ready stance. The pair looked off at each other for a while, before the skimpy girl grinned:

"Very impressive! I've been watching you for a while, and I say, you've improved since the last time I saw you! I can feel your reiatsu from here, but you still refuse to use it." She smirked mockingly, tapping her hip with her finger "You don't even know what we plan to do, do ya? No, you haven't got that far yet; the infinite wisdom of all of Soul Society can't figure out the plans of a misfit group of humans. Ah well…" She sighed disappointedly, and then mimicked the motion of pulling guns out of their holsters. To Edward's shock two Desert Eagle pistols appeared out of thin air, briefly turning pink as they pulled spirit particles from the surroundings and unknowingly from Edward himself. She aimed them at Edward, and pulled a very flirtatious-yet-deadly pose.

Edward stared at the pistols intently, analysing them carefully. Adrienne noticed the look, and obliged an explanation.

"Oh, these? Yeah, cool, right? Natsume made them, well, _I _made them. They pull spirit particles from the surroundings and turn them into a solid form, in my case some nice guns! Even the bullets are made from reiatsu. I could have a sword or a dagger or a spear, but guns are cooler. You can do flips and shit with guns!" she said proudly, spinning them skilfully on her fingers. All the while, Edward remained silent. He was too busy coming up with a sort of battle plan. He wasn't suited to planning, but felt he needed one going against long range weapons with a short one. Adrienne smirked again, and then opened fire on Edward.

Edward was Flash Stepping as much as he could to avoid her bullets. He wasn't used to using Hakudo so frequently, and was seriously struggling. Adrienne eventually stopped her assault and Edward fell to the floor panting.

"Is that it? Is that all of the legendary Shinigami? Our overlords and masters?!" she cried with laughter. Edward looked up with a realisation:

"That's why you're doing this, all of you!" he said proudly, standing up slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're scared! You're scared of dying, of us coming to take you to Soul Society!"

"No-no, that's not it! You're wrong!" she shouted angrily, becoming flustered

"No, I'm not! You think we are responsible for your friends and family dying, don't you? You think that by killing and getting rid of us, you'll remove to need to die!" Adrienne remained silent, fiddling with her guns nervously.

"Adrienne, you've got it all wrong! Soul Society isn't like that! People _die_, that's just the way it is! If we don't do what we do, if we don't take your friends to our world, then they remain here forever. Alone, unloved, until they either give up or become Hollows, and that's awful. Truly, truly awful…" Adrienne had tears in her eyes, and let her guns fade.

"What's it like?" she whimpered "Is it… fun, there?"

"Oh, totally!" Will said with a faked smile, in reality he thought it was horrible, but he couldn't tell her that! "It's brilliant! No need for food, no need for water, no need for sleep! Just the rest of their lives to relax until they pass on!" Adrienne smiled slowly, and then spoke apologetically.

"My brother… my brother died a while back. He was only little, 6 and a half years old that morning, and we were taking him for a big party! He was going to see the sea!" she said with a laugh, tears flying off her face "He hadn't ever seen it; he just wanted to see it! They was a crash, a big car crash. And… and he… he was hit the hardest, instead of me he was hit instead! I should have been hit, I should have died instead!" She was in floods of tears now, absolutely devastated. "The last thing I remember is a Soul Reaper stepping over to him. I saw him looking out at the sea, just like he wanted to, but a Shinigami walked over. She took him, she took him and she didn't even apologise…" She fell to the floor in sadness, and curled up. "I just wanted him back… I just wanted to see him one last time. Alexander, he said he could take me to see him. That if we destroyed Soul Society he would come back to life… That's all I wanted! I didn't want this, I just wanted him to come back!"

"And I still can, my dear!"

Alexander was standing on a wall on near the pair, his trench coat blowing in the wind.

"Are you going to trust this boy? You cannot believe the words of the ones who control us, the ones who took your brother from you?" His words invoked confidence and trust, even Edward felt like he was a nice guy. Adrienne shook her head as if forgetting something, and then jumped up quickly.

"No! Of course not, I will destroy him!" Edward's stomach turned in fear as he readied himself for another assault.

A few minutes passed and Edward was on the floor again, this time riddled with bullet holes and grazes. His breathing was forced and his movements sluggish, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to get up again. Adrienne had a fury in her eyes that Edward feared, and he was looking for an opening that wasn't coming. She was about to deal the last strike when a voice was heard behind them.

"Edward, duck!" Instead of ducking, Edward simply fell to the floor and stayed there. To his delight, Matsumoto dived over him, rolling up and putting her Zanpakuto to the girl's throat.

"You attacked a member of my squad, naughty. Lucky for him, he's under my watch… Not so lucky for you, he needs my help…" she laughed with a slight malice, then turned to Edward.

"Take a seat, Eddy. This won't take long at all…"


	21. Chapter 21

Edward lay on the ground in a pool of his rapidly leaving blood. He was feeling light-headed, his vision was distorting and his breathing was fragmented. With all of that in mind, and his death imminent, he was still uninterested in his state, and more so in the state of the warrior before him. Rangiku had her sword drawn and a stern, determined look that seemed out of place. Edward had never seen her display an emotion other than happiness or pure determination, but this was something different. Even in his state of mind, he was focused on her strong Spiritual Pressure and spoke weakly:

"Matsumoto… the kids from… my class! They saw me…" Matsumoto looked around and her face became that of a concerned mother, her large eyes observing Edward's state.

"Oh, Edward. I'm so sorry…" She turned around and glared at the shaking girl. Adrienne was having a crisis of emotion, and was deciding between anger or sadness to fuel her battle. She pulled up her guns and opened fire on Rangiku, who calmly spoke:

"Unare, Haineko!"

Her sword became ash, and she artistically manoeuvred the cloud to intercept the bullets. They were lost in the black stream, and when the assault stopped they were spat out by the cloud. Adrienne went white as a sheet, and her knees buckled in fear. She looked up into the cold eyes of the 10th Division Lieutenant, screamed with so much terror it hurt, and then passed out on the cold ground. Rangiku sealed and sheathed her sword, kneelt down by the girl and sighed wearily:

"So young… you poor thing." She said solemnly, standing up and stepping over to the half-dead Shinigami. Her attitude changed quickly, and she was almost back to her old self:

"Hello, Edward! You miss me?" she said with a clearly forced grin. Edward genuinely smiled, and coughed before speaking slowly:

"I got a little… beat up." He said, blood continuing from his several bullet holes.

"You shouldn't have taken her on yourself! And she got you so easily, didn't you use your Shikai?" she asked, opening the door to Seireitei as she spoke.

"I guess..." Edward began, thinking to himself slowly "I guess I didn't… _want_ to…" He suddenly looked desperately at his superior, realising something in his thought:

"This wasn't her fault, you mustn't blame her! It was the leader, that Alexander guy, he was basically… _brainwashing_ her…" he said, thinking for a moment for the right word. He was finally becoming unconscious now, and the last thing he remembered was a guilty look from Matsumoto…

"Don't do it!" Edward woke up in a cold sweat, little drops of it dripping off his head and creating areas of it on the dreary white sheets he was sleeping under. He pushed off the blanket and looked over his body, which was densely wrapped in bandages, cotton swabs and plasters. He looked solemnly at the damage before groaning, closing his eyes in pain and speaking to himself:

"My head! Why does my head hurt? I was shot, not clubbed half to death!" His concentration was broke as he had a sudden thought:

"Adrienne! What happened to her? Did… did Matsumoto… did she-?" Edward sighed, knowing the turmoil that was to come, as he slowly turned and placed his aching feet on the wooden floor.

"Getting out of bed, the worst part of anyone's day…" he said to himself "OK, on the count of three! 1… 2…" He rocked back and forth slightly, before shouting and standing up:

"3!" he launched to his feet and cried proudly: "There we go! I'm up! Pretty good, if I do say so myself!" He grabbed his sword from the side of his bed, strapped it to his side, and grabbed a crutch from across the room. He stepped slowly out from his room in the 4th Division HQ and looked around the area. Happily finding no one he waddled out into the sunshine, heading briskly as possible to the his barracks.

"You know, if you're not careful: you'll get yourself killed again…"

Edward flinched overdramatically at the sound of the voice, quickly flailing and falling to the ground in a heap, rather gracefully opening a couple of his wounds in the process. Rebecca laughed heartily, and helped him up. She awkwardly fixed his bandaging and then spoke friendlily:

"Feeling better? Good, you've been out of action a while! I've been lonely, without my sparring partner…" she said, limping him out into the sunlight.

"Well, I've been a bit… incapacitated, as of late!" he said with a grin

"Yeah, I didn't think of that, did I? Because I don't think, do I?" she said with playful malice, smiling secretly at the childish guilt-tripping. Edward's stomach turned, and he looked painfully at his Shinigami helper.

"I'm sorry… Rebecca. I-I didn't know… about your brother and that…I-I'm sorry. Why, why are you laughing?" He looked red-faced at the hysterical girl, who had left arm of his and was leaning against the wall and struggling for breath. "Can you stop laughing please?"

"Fuck off, no! This is classic! Look at you, you're like a wet cat!" she cried, pointing a judging finger at the embarrassed boy. "Oh get over it! I'm a Soul Reaper, I've killed in the past and one mopey teenager won't make me go back on that!"

"But-but you're brother?" Edward said confused

"He's fine! He wasn't dead, only injured, like you. I bought him here with me when you left, and Unohana herself fixed him up. He's in the next room, actually… You could meet him if you'd like?" Edward took a deep breath and nodded, being lead into his hospital room by Rebecca.

"Edward, this is my little brother: Chris. Chris, this is Edward"

Edward hopped in and his jaw dropped. Sitting on the bed, casually reading a book, was Rebecca's little brother, but the word little was as juxtaposed as possible. The man lying there was at least 6'10", and had a madly powerful body. Large shoulders, a tight torso and bulky arms layered his large body, and Edward remained silent out of fear. He slowly placed his bookmark into his book, laid it on the bedside table and sat up a little further, speaking friendlily:

"Hullo! Name's Chris, as Rebecca just said…" he laughed unconfidently, doubting his intelligence.

"Uh, I'm… Edward, nice to meet you…" Edward said, struggling to shake his vastly larger hand.

"Rebecca's been telling me about how you beat that bastard, Pierre, for me!" he said with a deep, hearty chuckle.

"Uh, yeah, well Rebecca did most of the work…"

"Yeah, ha ha… I heard you made her cry, is that true?" he said glaring. Edward gulped, the man seemed bigger when he was angry.

"Uh, well… Sort of… Well, I didn't… I didn't know…" Edward stuttered, going bright red and trying to figure out his escape. Rebecca giggled to herself, and slapped her bulky brother on the back.

"Oh, get over yourself! You're my little brother, it's not your job to look after me!" They both laughed, and Edward was still red-faced and figuring his escape.

The pair left, and returned to their room in the barracks. Edward slowly lay on his bed, trying to minimize damage to his reopened wounds. He looked at Rebecca reading the same book as Chris was.

"You said he was your _little _brother!" he blurted out. Rebecca look over, slowly placed her bookmark into her book, laid it on the bedside table and sat up a little further:

"He is, four years younger, why?"

"He's a giant! Pierre was big, but he didn't scare me like that!" Rebecca giggled to herself, and looked at Edward like a child:

"Yeah, he's pretty big. Never very good at his training, only working out…" she said, in thought "So, are we going to spar later?" Edward stared at Rebecca is disdain, and rolled over to sleep, secretly smiling to himself.


	22. Chapter 22

Edward's head hurt. He wasn't sure why, but he had little to no memory of his fight with Adrienne, only that he lost and Matsumoto had to save him. It was early morning, and Edward struggled to wake himself up. Rebecca was gone, probably to visit her brother or get some early morning work done, so Edward had plenty of time to get himself ready. His wounds had healed quickly due to the 4th Division's expertise, so he was almost back to full working order. He strolled out onto the 10th Division's garden area and casually sat down, enjoying the view and the calming sunshine. For some reason, he felt as though something was wrong, as though he needed to do something or ask something. He had no idea what, however, and was too relaxed to bother to find out! He lay there, bathing in the sun, when he heard a call from behind him:

"Yoohoo! Edward! You're awake!"

Edward looked around, and saw the lieutenant waving happily; almost too happy, as if she were hiding something. Edward smiled, waved back, and motioned her over:

"Morning, Rangiku! How are you?" The woman sat down beside him and spoke quickly:

"Oh, I'm good. Great in fact, brilliant!" she said nervously, her made-up face blushing ever so slightly

"Are you OK? You seem a little… nervous, is Tosh getting to you? I can believe that!" Edward chuckled, and then paused to think, and spoke:

"Hey, what happened to Adrienne? I don't remember much, I must have been hit on the head or something, but I remember _you_ helping me fight. What happened after?" Matsumoto sighed, and looked guiltily at Edward:

"I beat Adrienne, well, she kind of did it for me. You passed out from the blood loss, and I took you back. Adrienne was imprisoned, and is awaiting execution…" Edward's stomach turned, as image of the events returned. He remembered Adrienne's confession, and sat up quickly.

"But, you can't! It wasn't her fault! She was being brainwashed, for god's sakes! Where is she?! I need to see her!"

"I can't- I can't tell you… The captain forbade me…" Within seconds Edward was already running to his office, and Matsumoto lay on the ground sadly.

Edward burst open the doors to Hitsugaya's office, abruptly waking him up from a nap, and demanded to see Adrienne. The boy fell from his chair and pulled himself up quickly from the floor, angrily shouting back at Edward:

"What are you talking about?!"

"Don't you play dumb with me! Where did they lock up Adrienne?! I know Matsumoto bought her back here; where did you put her?" Hitsugaya sighed in boredom and disappointment, before talking down to the angry Soul Reaper:

"Tell me, Edward, what do you hope to accomplish by seeing Adrienne, hmm? She won't be freed, she won't be acquitted; circumstances aside, she murdered Shinigami before this incident, we have confessions to prove it, and worked with a known terrorist group! She will be executed for her crimes, whether you _visit _her or not!" Edward stared shocked at his captain, not believing his scarily cold reply to be sincere, and was frozen for a response. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, unsure of what would be an appropriate reply, before eventually asking:

"Where is she?"

Edward sadly slumped to the Nest of Maggots and was led in by members of the Onmitsukido. Edward had always found the 2nd Division creepy, the way they rarely spoke unless their captain let them. The Nest was unusual for a prison, as the prisoners were free to move around. He'd seen a few cells, but never anyone actually kept in them. He was bought to an observation-deck-of-sorts and expected to find the girl himself. He spent a while picking her out through the crowd, before finally spotting her cowering in the corner. Her face was white as a sheet, and she looked even thinner than before. The parts of her body that could be seen beneath her clothes looked bruised and damaged, and several other prisoners, all of them powerful Soul Reapers, were eyeing her worryingly. Edward Flash Stepped down, and made the girl flinch loudly:

"Edward, what-what are you doing here!? These-these people, they're… sick!" she said, with genuine concern and fear in her voice.

"I know; I need your help if I'm going to get you out of here."

"You're… going to get me out?" she asked hopefully, a slight smile coming to her lips.

"Yes, I'm going to try, but I need something… concrete, something to prove your innocence, maybe like a note or something?" Adrienne chuckled:

"No, I haven't got a note - or anything really – but…" she paused, closing her mouth and pulling her knees in slightly, before trying again: "but I know what he's going to do next… and it involves your sister…"

Edward burst through the doors to Yamamoto's office, earning the unsheathing of several swords including that of the lieutenants. He was breathing heavily, having Flash Stepped the entire distance there to reach him as quickly as possible, and his speech was slurred but showed his determination:

"The Free… I know- I know what their plan is!" Yamamoto raised his hand, signalling his attendants to sheath their swords, before speaking calmly:

"What is this _plan_?" he said, partially not believing the statement.  
"They plan to break into Soul Society! They've built this… machine, that harvests Spiritual Power and uses it to crack open the Senkaimon so they can use it. Adrienne said they were finished before she was bought here, and they are going to use my-"

"Calm down boy!" Yamamoto ordered, his voice echoing through the room and it seemed to darken it slightly "Adrienne? Who is she?"

"A girl who worked with them, she was being brainwashed, I think, and almost killed me; but that's not the point, she told me everything. Without her, we could never have found this out. I know where they are and what they're planning, isn't that enough?!" he replied angrily. Yamamoto stared at the boy, and Edward swore he could see a slight grin under his long beard.

"What is it you plan to do?" Edward was taken aback slightly, expecting them to do something instead

"I'm not sure what you mean? Aren't- aren't you going to send someone?"

"Why should we? As you said, they are few. We could defend Seireitei against them easily; we do not need to take action. So, I repeat, what is it you plan to do?" Edward hesitated to think for a few seconds, before unconfidently speaking out:

"I plan to go and defeat the group, all of them, before any harm can come to Soul Society." He said proudly, standing up straight and adjusting his sword. Yamamoto nodded in agreement, and Edward took the sign and left for the Senkaimon quickly.

He had planned to go alone to fight the group, arrogantly thinking it wise. The door was opened for him, and as he was about to leave a voice was heard behind him:

"Sneaking off, are we?" Rebecca stood arms crossed proudly, her sword scabbard polished respectfully. Edward sighed and drooped his head, and when he bought it up she was standing at the portal. "Coming then? Kaze No Oni and I are both _very _impatient…" They both grinned, and ran through the door into the Human World, coming through right on Edward's street.


	23. Chapter 23

The door to his house had been thrown in, and splintered and cracked in several places. The light that once brightened the doorway had been destroyed, and shards of it remained on the floor below. Edward's heart stopped as he stepped inside, taking in the torn wallpaper and the broken picture frames. Rebecca did the same, and spoke with a gasp:

"They look like-"

"Nail marks, I know…" he said darkly, continuing determinedly into the wrecked house. He stepped into the kitchen, looking for some sign of his family. A ripped up doll belonging to Clarice lay on the kitchen table, staring solemnly at the Shinigami. Edward picked up the doll, angry at himself for letting this happen. Rebecca noticed this, and offered consolation:

"Edward, this isn't your fault. People haven't noticed yet, we only just missed then. You said you know where they were, right? We'll get them, and we'll get her back!" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He smirked, before carefully placing the doll back down

"I lied. I've no idea where they are; I needed the old man to agree to this…"

"That's just like you! Don't worry, I'll track them." She grinned

"How? They're long gone!"

"Adrienne gave me some of their stuff that she took to Seireitei; I can use it to find them. Might take a while though, if I start now I could-"

They were cut off by the shuffling of torn up floorboards and a whimper. They spun around as Edward's mother crawled from the wreckage like a baby, her tears painted by her makeup and her hair ruined. Edward ran to her quickly, using his enhanced strength to effortlessly throw off some of the material.

"Mum! Are you OK?!" he cried, looking for injuries. The woman didn't respond, instead shaking in his arms. She spent a while in silence, before looking up at her son blankly.

"Soul Reapers? No, my grandfather said they were a myth. Shame really, it's a nice thought…" she said quietly, the words barely escaping her lips "Maybe you _are_ real… You look like my son, you know that? He's not here, if you're looking for him, he's been out for a while with all his friends. I _do_ miss him, but he never liked my cooking… Maybe _that's_ why…" Her words made little sense, and she stared blankly at the ceiling. Edward was in tears, fearing for his mother's condition. She spoke more nonsense, before quietly passing out in her stress.

"She was in shock; I've seen it plenty of times. I've sent for 4th Division to clear this place up, and they'll wipe her memory afterwards. As long as we get Clarice back, she won't remember a thing, OK?" Rebecca said, comforting him and reassuring his crippled psyche. He looked up with tears in his eyes, but quickly blinked them out and stood up proudly. He took his mother to her bed, removed some of the rubble and tucked her in. He turned around to Rebecca, and spoke coldly:

"Let's go."

Rebecca had performed a tracking Kido to find Alexander, and did so quickly. She found that they were hiding in an old warehouse in the industrial area of town. The building was decrepit, and the roof caved in in several places. The doors were locked strongly, but Edward easily kicked them in. The room was almost black, scarcely lit by the light of machinery in the distance. The pair ran to the lit area of the room, and was greeted by three people: Misao, Alexander and Natsume. There were several computers hooked up to a darker area, one that was eerily unlit. Alexander spoke with a cocky smirk, already deciding on his victory:

"Edward, you've returned to us! It's too late now, however, our plan has already come to fruition and there's not a thing you could do to stop us." He said proudly, leaning casually on one of the large spires. There were wires connecting to the darkened area from these spires, and they hummed with energy.

"You attacked my mum, and kidnapped my sister…" Edward said calmly, pulling out his sword and stepping towards the three "This isn't about stopping you, I couldn't care less at this point; I'm here to kill you, and there's nothing you could do to stop me! You know that, Alexander, that's why you've targeted my sister, because you think it'll stop me from knocking you down, don't you?" Alexander shuffled awkwardly, and sweat began to bead off his head. Rebecca was in awe of his speech, and scared too. Alexander moistened his lips and spoke shaking:

"Start the machine, now"

The lights turned on dramatically, and sitting in a large chair was Clarice. She was hooked up to the chair with an odd looking headpiece, flashing and beeping erratically. She was in flood of tears, her well groomed hair in a bundle. She noticed Edward, and whimpered in fear:

"Ed-dy?" Edward practically growled in anger, and prepared his sword:

"Denryoku no nagare kara tachiagaru, Tenkezunami!" His sword transformed and lengthened, becoming the grand spectacle it usually is. Alexander shook on the spot, but moved back to fight and attempt to keep his misplaced pride. As Edward began the fight, the device became fully active and shot a bright white light towards Clarice. She screamed in agony, and energy began feeding from her into the spires. A giant white portal began to form, and Alexander laughed:

"You wonder why we bought her here? We needed a catalyst! While you've been prancing about in Soul Society being high and mighty, we've been pumping her full of Spiritual Energy! She's basically as powerful as a fully-fledged Soul Reaper, and that's all we need to open the gate to your precious Seireitei!" The girl screamed again, the portal opening further, and Edward launched his first attack:

"Michishio, Chikara o Yosha!*" A large wave was formed behind Edward; a gigantic, incredibly powerful force was created. It obliterated Alexander's defence, and he was knocked to the ground and incapacitated. Edward was above him instantly, looking down on him in a mixture of anger and hatred.

"You were always weak, too weak and too ambitious, and it was your downfall…" he said coldly, positioning his sword ready. Alexander begged for his life, but was cut short as the blade pierced him. He slowly closed his eyes, and was suddenly at peace. The hatred and anger he had for the Shinigami, whilst misplaced, was gone. He lay back in his large trench coat and stopped; and he was happier than he ever was.

Edward spun around to turn off the machine, but found that it was already being deactivated. He looked up, and saw the lanky scientist switching off the devices. He smiled at the pair, and then spoke for the first time:

"Very good! I thought I'd have to kill him myself if you didn't come along! Bit cold though, I mean: wow! You're just like Hitsugaya, maybe a little taller…" he said casually.

"What do you mean? Why did you want me?" Edward asked, already feeling guilty for his actions.

"You're already feeling bad aren't you? You were always like that, in every mission, in every kill, always _so guilty_!"

"What are you saying?!"

"I'm saying: I bought you here for one reason." He pulled off his lab coat dramatically, revealing a Shinigami outfit beneath it, a sword strapped to his side.

"Because I missed you. _Sir."_


	24. Chapter 24

"Because I missed you. _Sir._"

Natsume stood proudly before the mortified Soul Reapers and his grinning wife; his awkward gangly appearance had been suddenly lessened, and he seemed larger built than he previously was. Edward was the first to speak, but did so quietly and in puzzlement:

"Sir? What do you mean?" Natsume laughed, and then began explaining the situation:

"Of course, I never forgot my manners, sir. That would be rude, and you always did hate that. I didn't want to ruin your return so quickly!" he replied eagerly, a childish respect peering through

"My return?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe it either! They said you might forget some things, but I'm sure you'll remember eventually, right? We never did finish in Hueco Mondo, so we'd better get there quickly!" Edward stood with his sword touching the floor, trying to process the information he'd just received. Slowly, he asked another question:

"You did all this… for me? What about Misao?" Misao smiled warmly, and stepped over to Natsume's embrace.

"Natsume told me everything. About you, about the Shinigami; it seems all so beautiful! He was so glad when I found you, and I'd been looking for so long, so we made this group to get your attention! Clever, right?"

"All of this, all those murders, was your fault?!" Edward cried in anger

"Of course, they were simply a means to an end; like this peasant girl who calls herself your sibling!"

"Is that all your wife is? A means to an end?" Edward asked, feeling bad for the misguided girl. Natsume kindly put his arm around her neck, soothingly kissing her on the neck, before grabbing the side of her head harshly. She struggled under his enhanced grip, and tears were falling from her eyes.

"Natsume!? What are you doing?!" she asked meekly. He smiled, kissed her one last time on the neck, and in one swift movement he broke it like a toothpick, her body falling to the floor like a doll.

Misao lay in her final resting place lying painfully on her twisted throat. The bone was poking the skin slightly, and her sharp green eyes seemed glazed over. Edward choked at the sight, and turned furiously to malevolent Soul Reaper

"She was your wife! She loved you!" Natsume looked hurt at the boy, finally realising his position.

"You don't know me, do you?"

"No, I don't, and I'm fucking glad! You're filth!" Edward screamed coldly as Rebecca attempted to save the girl futilely.

"Filth? Filth?! How… _dare _you!" he shouted in anger, pulling out his sword "I spent 100 years looking for you. 100 years I spent hoping to see you again, like you told me! How could you- how could you forget me?!"

He lunged himself at Edward, who hadn't expected the attack. He was struck hard, and smacked against the wall loudly. The surrounding area cracked under the force, but Natsume continued his assault. He launched another attack, but Edward Flash Stepped away. He reached the other end of the room, and launched a Kido attack:

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hado 73: Soren Sokatsui!" He pulled the energy into his two fingers and thrust them towards Natsume, sending the energy outwards. Natsume attempted the block the attack with his sword, but it was blown far away. He growled angrily, and Flash Stepped away. He reappeared behind Edward, and quickly disarmed him. He threw the weapon away, leaving the two to scrap. Edward attempted to use his undeveloped Hakudo against the experienced Shinigami, but skilfully blocked these attacks. Edward threw a gut punch, a light jab, a right hook, a high kick, a low sweep, an uppercut and a flip kick, but they were evaded by the skilled Natsume. He was relentless, but Natsume took no damage. Edward back flipped a while back and then recreated the Kido stance again:

"Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31: Shakkaho!" He directed the attack upwards, destroying the remains of the ceiling dramatically and allowing Edward to leap through.

Natsume quickly followed and was hit with a strong attack from Edward.

"Hado 63: Raikoho!" A bolt of lightning-like energy shot from his hand, with devastating effects. Natsume took the full attack, and the force from it echoed around the area. Natsume paused in the air slightly, before falling to the floor slowly. Edward wasn't finished, however, and launched one last attack.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself in horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo 9: Horin!" An orange tendril lashed out from his two fingers, wrapping itself around Natsume's damaged body. Edward pulled the whip back up, pulling him up high into the air, and then dropping the spell, letting him fall. He landed right in the centre of the room, creating a little crater surrounding him. He was steaming slightly, and had cuts and grazes on his face and body. He groaned, but pulled himself up laughing:

"Very good! You were… always… good at… Kido! You're a bit of a… show off, you know… that?" Edward stood before menacingly, as Rebecca pulled his sister from the machine. He cast another spell, this time to stop him permanently:

"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" Six pillars of light were created and embedded into Natsume, paralysing him. He sat immobilised in the crater, but continued laughing:

"That's even more impressive! You've only been back for a few months! It's not enough though, and you know that!" By this point, Edward had retrieved his sealed sword, and was walking away.

"Look at me!" he cried, as Edward stepped away "Look. At. Me!" He broke the seal quickly, and launched himself at the boy Shinigami. Edward turned around just in time, his sword pointing in Natsume's direction…

Natsume leant on the sword that had pierced his chest, and chuckled:

"Who'd have thought it? It was you… you who killed me?" Natsume's blood dripped into a fast growing pool. He didn't struggle, or try to remove the weapon, but instead spoke calmly, having accepted his fate:

"I spent… 100 years looking for you. A century passed, and I found you. I never thought I would, I thought you'd left me, like the rest of them left us. Left us in Hueco Mundo, left us to die… But no, I didn't die, no. I got out, I got out of that hellhole and came back for you." He looked up tearfully at the boy, and then spoke again:

"Don't worry, I get it now. You don't remember, simple as. Hopefully… you will. And when you do, I don't blame you. I never did." Edward looked at him in a mixture of confusion, regret and sadness as he breathed his final words.

"I was glad to be of service… Captain… Arigato…"

Edward held his dying lieutenant in his arms, the emotions of the situation hitting him without the memories. He didn't recognise this person, this apparent friend of his, but all he could feel was that he _should_ know him. He looked down at him and then looked at Rebecca, hoping that she could fix this for him. That she could save him from this like she did a while ago. She looked at him in despair, and then took his sister home with a Flash Step. Edward looked back at Natsume, before returning his body to Seireitei where it belonged…


	25. Chapter 25

Edward arrived in Soul Society promptly and Flash Stepped to Yamamoto's office. He threw the doors open forcefully and stepped in, ignoring the shouts of his bodyguards. He tossed the corpse on Yamamoto's desk, and spoke blankly:

"Done. The Free are done." Yamamoto was unmoved by the display, and spoke simply:

"Oh? And who's this?" Edward looked solemnly at the body, at Natsume's body, before replying:

"His name was Natsume. He-he was my… partner. I think…" Edward paused, realising something "But you already knew that, didn't you?" The room was silent, no one daring to speak, until the General Captain himself broke the silence:

"Gentlemen, would you excuse us?" His team bowed officially and then quickly departed, leaving the two in peace.

"Explain, now." Edward demanded, staring down the captain. Yamamoto paused for a second, and then began his explanation:

"You are an anomaly. A mistake. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you, for the second time. 300 years ago, you were a Soul Reaper in my division; in fact, you were almost my lieutenant. You were a prodigy, the first in your class and an easy seat, so good that I was confident you could handle it."

"Handle? Handle what?"

"There was a threat to Soul Society's integrity originating from Hueco Mundo. I created an elite team to investigate the issue, well in fact _you _did. You chose each member individually. The report stated that you were killed in action, and I thought we'd lost a brilliant Shinigami. But we were wrong. When a soul dies, they are reborn as a totally new being. But you didn't. I don't know why, but you… lingered. Your abilities, your powers, even your Zanpakuto, it all remained." Yamamoto looked at Edward guiltily, having hid this for too long "You endured. But your memories didn't." Edward had to sit down after hearing all this, the shock near knocking him out.

"I-I'm _not_ Edward? Who-who am I? Clarice, my mum, are they even… my family?"

"Go and meet with Kurotsuchi. There's something him and I have been preparing for a while now."

Edward met Rebecca outside, who spoke comfortingly:

"Hitsugaya told me everything. It's OK, we're gonna sort this out!" She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react. Rebecca removed the hand with a silent sigh, and the pair left for 12th Division.

"When the old man came to me with this project I must admit, I was intrigued. Usually I'm asked for new Gigai technology, a waste of my talents, but this was a real challenge. Not anything I'd struggle with, of course, but one all the same." Kurotsuchi bragged about his skills the entire time, until he bought them to a locked chamber. He found a key hidden among many others on a large hook, and used it to unlock the door. The locks clanged loudly, and the doors opened themselves dramatically. Inside sat a machine similar to that of Natsume's design, but with no computers and a simple console instead. Kurotsuchi led them in and began explaining the machine's use:

"I trust Yamamoto has filled you in." He said plainly, obviously not caring about Edward's plight "Memories are never lost, like energy they are eternal, so they can be retrieved. Yours have been dormant for quite some time, but I'm confident my invention can return them."

"You're confident?!" Rebecca cried

"Very. Now, if you'd simply sit in that chair we can get this over and done with!" Edward stepped over to the machine, but didn't sit in it.

"What about me… now? What about my life now? What will happen to my memories?"

"Well, the mind is fickle. It can't carry two lives. Your current memories will be overwritten, but all of your skills and experience will return."

Edward stared at the console in thought. Deciding on the path he should take. He stepped over to the chair, touching the armrest. He looked back at Rebecca and Kurotsuchi, before pulling out his sword and quickly stabbing it into console. It flashed and sparks flew as the machine shut down altogether. Kurotsuchi flew into a mad panic, whilst Rebecca simply grinned.

"How predictable!" she said with a chuckled. Edward smiled, and then spoke happily for the first time in ages:

"I wasn't going to leave my family and life behind for the sake of a past life. It wasn't worth it." He walked out the room, before turning around momentarily. "So, up for sparring?"


	26. Chapter 26

The trainee attendant stepped awkwardly through the deep, dark prison cells. The area he was in was not known to many in Seireitei, but feared by those who knew its purpose. The young Soul Reaper was being made to sweep the floors, and was shaking as he walked past his greatest fear. The cell was barely lit, except by the flickering light of a dimmed torch and the faint glow of the several Bakudo charms placed on the captor. The attendant, only 150 of age, attempted to avoid the gaze of the man- no, creature- kept within. He failed, however, as a deep menacing voice echoed from the darkness:

"Oh? You're back! Hello again, my friend, how are your rounds going?" The boy shivered at the sound, goose bumps appearing over his skin. His ugly green hair stood on end, and his athletic form was weakened by the sheer sound.

"Good, sir, they're going… good!" he replied, trying to act positive.

"They're going _well_. You should learn to speak properly, my son. And drop the formalities; I'm a prisoner, not a lord."

"Of course, s-" The boy replied, trailing off as he was about to continue being formal.

"Now, it's good you've come, I've got a little proposition." The slight outline and form of a head peered out from the dark, and his stark white teeth could be seen clearly from his smile. "Well, not a proposition, per say. More of an… opportunity." The boy gasped as his form became shadows, and his ghastly figure seethed through the bars of his cage. The wisps reformed in the shape of a largely built man, void of features or definition. What could be seen clearly was his tooth-filled grin.

"Now, open wide!" The boy shrieked in horror as the smoke entered his nose and mouth, his body becoming rigid and taut. Once the vapour disappeared the man's body loosened again, his posture returning. His eyelids opened, revealing his black sights to the world as his laughed proudly.

"Teach?! You're going to make me teach?!" Hitsugaya was sitting at Edward's windowsill tiredly as Edward cried in shock. He rolled his eyes and began to re-explain himself.

"As I've told you several times before, you lack experience. Educating the next generation of our kind is the perfect way to teach you some leadership! Besides, you've been a bit useless these past few months; this can get you moving again!" It had been over two months since Edward's first battle, and in reality he'd been quite busy. Almost every day he'd been training himself (except weekends, he took weekends off) and was now essentially a novice in Hakudo, something he had some pride in. He had no interest in the subject, or skill, and instead concentrated on his aptitude in Kido.

"True or not, it's wrong! I'm just a simple Soul Reaper! They need a captain to teach them, a master; I've barely mastered Kido, and don't get me started on the hand-to-hand stuff!"

"Stop doubting yourself. You're my third seat, and are proficient enough to teach first years aptly."

"First years?!" Hitsugaya waved his hand.

"We will speak of this no more. I expect to see you promptly at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. Goodbye." With that he leapt from the window, fleeing as Edward shouted after him:

"6 o'clock?! Are you mad?!"

"6 o'clock! I don't do mornings… this sucks." Edward slumped his way to Toshiro's office clutching a warm coffee in his hands. He flung open the doors and was greeted by a stare from him and his lieutenant.

"What is that?" Hitsugaya said, pointing at the beverage

"It's coffee. It's morning. I wanted coffee."

"But how did you _get_ it here?"

"I bought it from this shop down the road. Nice little place, great drinks-"

"No. How did you get it into Seireitei?!"

"Oh, that. I stabbed the cup. I figured: if my sword can send souls to Soul Society, why can't my sword make coffee do the same?" The room was silent for a while, before Edward began laughing. "You're all gullible! I made it when I was in soul form, that's all. I guess that's enough." The room when silent again, musing over the logistics of coffee. Hitsugaya broke this silence with his briefing for Edward, who had taken seat next to the lounging Matsumoto.

"You will be teaching a small group of new recruits in one hour. I expect you've already decided on what to teach them?" Edward spoke after a long sip of his drink:

"What?"

"They are brand new, and therefore you will present them with their Asauchi."

"Their what?" Hitsugaya sighed angrily

"A spiritless sword. Nothing more than a weapon. You know of this, you had one!"

"Yeah, hundreds of years ago in another life! I've got my Tenkezunami now… And besides, that was a really traumatic time for me, I don't appreciate mockery!" He replied, his sword glinting slightly as he feigned sadness

"Oh shut up. You will teach them all the same. Now go, set up. Your class will arrive soon."

Edward lay on the grass in the training grounds where he was supposed to meet his class. He was told to do so in one of the classrooms, but found them stuffy and depressing so had it changed. He had a long blade of grass between his front teeth and was chewing it peacefully. He was interrupted by a cough from in front of him, causing him to look up. There were 10 students there, dressed in their formal robes.

"_Crap. I'd hoped they wouldn't change it… Ah well, best get started!"_ Edward stood up, brushed himself off and spoke:

"Hello class!" _"Too excited" _"My name's Edward, I'm your new teacher!" _"They probably already knew that." _"Now, shall we get started?" _"Of course we should get started."_ Edward wanted this job to be over and done with, so started quickly. He ignored their names and instead revealed the rack of generic swords.

"Ladies, Gentlemen: your swords." There were gasps of awe from the group as they picked out their weapons. A girl raised her hand and asked a question:

"Sir?"

"Yes, what's your name?"

"Asami, sir, Asami Goto. What's my Zanpakuto's name? What type is it? Can I make it do the Shikai thing?"

"Let me explain." The group sat down, and Edward began to awkwardly teach.

"The swords you were given are called Asa-Asauchi- yeah, that's it- ; they have no names. A Shinigami spends years imprinting themselves on it, creating their Zanpakuto. You will do so in time too, I think."

"You think? Haven't you done it yourself?" another man piped up

"Uh… yes. No. Sort of, a bit. It's a long story, a complicated one."

"Show us!" They cried, and Edward finally knew what to do.

"Gimme a sec!"

Edward fumbled around in a storage shed to find what he was looking for: an odd looking model in the shape of a person, designed by Urahara for Bankai training. Edward didn't know it's true purpose, but he knew how to use it. He bought it out to show the kids, who had many theories.

"Is that your Zanpakuto?!" Edward stared bemused at the kid who spoke up, speaking quietly:

"N-no. How… how could I fight with this?" The kid shrugged, and Edward continued.

"My sword's name is Tenkezunami, she's a water type. This model can bring out a person's Zanpakuto spirit, and I will show you mine!" He stabbed the model and there was a flashing light. When it subsided, Tenkezunami stood there in her elegant silk dress and in all her beauty. Her delicate face betrayed her immense knowledge and experience, and she greeted Edward warmly.

"Good morning, Edward. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been busy…"

"No you haven't. You've been lazy. I've been there the entire time remember. You know, if we had spoken. You'd have learnt more of my techniques by now. I have several more than two, y'know!"

"I get that, you're brilliant, OK? Is that what you want? Can you teach me something now?" She smiled happily:

"No"

"Ugh, fine. Kids, this is Tenkezunami. A real bitch when she wants to be but downright pleasant most of the time!"

"How quaint…"

"Shut it"

"I've known you longer than you have yourself, I can talk to you how I want!" Tenkezunami said calmly, treating Edward like the child he really was.

"Are we really doing this now? You could've called!"

"I could've, but you wouldn't answer."

"You should have at least tried!"

"Same as you, dear. Now, I believe your class is waiting." The kids were smirking at the performance, earning Edward's deep blush.

"Now, ugh, shall we continue?"


	27. Chapter 27

Edward stood in front of the class with glee, highly anticipating the day's lesson. He had set up some targets and sat the class down.

"Ooh, I've been looking forward to this." He said with glee "Kido! I love Kido! The study of using one's Spiritual Power as a physical force. Undoubtedly the most flexible of four arts, and definitely the most fun. Let me demonstrate." He turned to the targets, and aimed to impress:

"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" The spell charged up normally, but was cast differently. Instead of one large ball, five smaller ones were fired. This hit each target perfectly, obliterating them. He turned proudly to the group, but received a scoff from one of his male students. He was a few inches shorter than Edward, but heavier in build.

"Pfft. Kido, it's overrated. You'd faster kill a man with a sword than with some fancy lights!" Edward grinned to himself, and replied.

"You remind me of a kid I know. He's in my class, actually. Take up your sword." The boy stood up with a mystified look, and stood opposite his teacher. "If you can knock me down, you win. You can fight however you want, but I will only use Kido."

"Bu-But, Sensei?! You're a master!"

"At Kido, yes. But you said that, and I quote,: "You'd faster kill a man with a sword than with some fancy lights" Prove it!"

Edward stood with his hand prepared for Kido, and his opponent with his sword ready. He quickly ran at Edward, shouting loudly.

"Bakudo 8: Seki!" He clicked his fingers and a small ball of white light appeared. It intercepted the man's strike and caused his sword to fly away, impaling itself in the ground next to a female student. She shrieked loudly as Edward began his assault. He cast a low-powered Sokatsui at the boy, earning a gasp from Asami:

"He didn't speak? Such power!" The boy was knocked back, but not damaged at all. He lunged at his teacher in fury, throwing his fists clumsily. Edward dodged each one, surprised by his ability.

"You have some ability in Hakudo! I'm impressed, who taught you?"

"It's not Hakudo, it's Ju Jutsu! My father taught me, when I was alive." He replied, his attacks becoming more graceful in memory of his old man.

"Ah, you'll do well with learning our ways, then." The boy grinned, and continued his attack. Edward was ready to end the battle, and did so quickly. He jumped back and began to bind the boy:

"Bakudo 99 Part 1: Kin!" He clapped his hands with his finger entwined intricately, causing fabric and iron to bind his hands together behind his back. He was beaten, and he lay on the ground motionless.

The lesson continued quickly once the boy had been unbound, and he was much happier to continue with Kido. Edward was teaching them Shakkaho, the easiest of the Hado spells.

"A Kido spell's power depends on its user's strength. For a novice their spells will have little effect, but a captain's power can destroy whole buildings, if they so wish. Spells can be cast quickly, or with an incantation to make them even stronger. I will teach you Shakkaho, one of the easiest Hado spells. Try to remember the chant, or write it down if you need to." He turned to the target, and began the chant:

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31: Shakkaho!" His poured all his power into the attack, sending an enormous surge of power towards the excessively large test dummy he'd deliberately set up. It destroyed the target, and sent a shockwave backwards. He turned around with a grin, revelling in his popularity.

The group attempted to perform the spell themselves, most of them doing so flimsily. They misfired, hit with no power behind it, blew themselves up or simply cast nothing. Edward tried to help them all, when a target was obliterated completely. He turned to see Asami in the stance, looking on proudly at her handiwork.

"That was amazing! That was a high powered shot; have you done this before?"

"Ugh, yeah. My brother's a Soul Reaper; he gave me some lessons."

"Is that all you can do?"

"Not at all! I've been training for years before this, let me show you!" She pointed her two fingers, and shouted loudly:

"Hado 73: Soren Sokatsui!" Two bolts of lightning shot from her fingers, destroying two targets and part of the shack next to it. Edward smiled as the shack burnt down, Asami looking at me guiltily.

"Sorry…"

"You'll get hell for that! I'm impressed! Maybe you could help me teach this lot!" he said smiling, earning hisses from the group. She nodded happily, and moved past Edward to help teach the rest of the group.

Edward was lounging in Hitsugaya's office whilst Matsumoto threw pieces of meat into his mouth.

"Y'know-" he said, chewing the food in his mouth "This isn't an effective way to eat…" Matsumoto was reading a book with one hand and throwing food with the other.

"Well don't expect me to get up. Maybe if you learnt to cook I wouldn't have to do this!"

"I can cook! Just… not well…" he replied, earning a playful scoff from his lieutenant "Why am I here again?"

"Captain wants to see how you're doing with your class. He heard Ms Goto was doing well."

"Very well. She's the top of my class in Kido. Can't Flash Step to save her life, but she's trying!" They were interrupted by the sound of the large doors opening. In stepped Hitsugaya and Rebecca, who greeted Edward warmly:

"Hello again! 'Aven't seen you for a while!"

"I know, best days of my life!"

"Oi, just 'cause you're higher up than me now, doesn't mean you can get cheeky, alright?!"

"Hey, 3rd Seat comes with its privileges. For one thing, Tosh can't moan at me for calling him Tosh, or for staying in his office."

"That's a clause I need to fix…" he huffed, taking a seat at his desk.

"Hungry, captain?" Rangiku said, launching a chunk of beef at his mouth. It hit his forehead, and rolled down his nose, earning a glare of Hitsugaya.

"So, boss, you called me here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, that's all. How are they?"

"The students? Great! They're learning quickly, although I can't remember half their names…"

"You'll do well to learn your own students' names. It's basic manners!"  
"Suppose so… Sorry…" Edward said with slight guilt in his voice. "I never thought of it like that."

"Well, you should think harder then. Now go; it's a Saturday tomorrow, you can go home for the day!"


	28. Chapter 28

Matsumoto was taking a stroll into the early hours of the morning. She whistled a happy tune whilst she spun a coin on her finger expertly. Her whistling was interrupted as a boy Soul Reaper stumbled out into her view, before collapsing onto the ground. She cried out to him, and ran over:

"Hey, you, you OK?! Answer me! Hey!" She dropped down beside him and picked him up by the back of his neck. The boy's eyes were closed, and his ugly green hair frizzed and ruffled up. "Hey! Can you hear me?! Hey!" The boy's eyes slowly opened, meeting Rangiku's gaze. She gasped as she noticed the jet black colour of his eyes, and their menacing look. The boy laughed, and a deep voice came from his mouth:

"Ooh, an upgrade. Thanks for your offer; this body's a bit weaker than I first thought. Yours will do nicely…" The boy opened his mouth and a shadow leaked out from it. Wisps and deathly curls of blackness stumbled out, and Matsumoto gasped as they entered her nose and mouth. She shivered and convulsed, before relaxing slowly. A deep chuckled escaped her mouth and Matsumoto straightened up, exploring her body.

"Well, this is new!" he said with a laugh, before cracking his fingers. He closed his eyes, and winced slightly, before speaking his plan out loud. "Oh, so she's a lieutenant. Her captain is pretty respected in the Gotei 13, maybe I can cause a bit of a stir!"

Edward fell back on his sofa and grimaced as he felt a shot of pain fire up his back. He'd damaged it sparring with Rebecca, who had grown merciless since his promotion. It seemed she felt the need to prove he deserved the title of 3rd Seat, by hurting him until she lost her bitterness. He padded the sofa like a kitten until he found a comfortable position and then lay back slowly. He closed his eyes in his relaxation but was quickly removed from this by a high pitched squeal.

"Eddy!" Clarice shrieked, leaping onto his back in joy. Edward groaned in pain as they tumbled off the sofa, but smiled to himself as his younger sibling giggled to herself.

"Morning, Clarice! You seem happy, what's the occasion?" Edward asked, pulling her off his back

"Don't be silly, it's mum's birthday! I got up early especially for it!" Clarice was right, the time was just after 6 in the morning and Edward was only up because that's when he left Seireitei!

"What!? Shit, I forgot!"

"What's a 'shit'?" Clarice asked innocently, scrunching her eyes as she pondered her brain for a definition.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Right, we've got to sort something out for mum! How about breakfast? You can make pancakes!"

"Seriously!?" she cried, at the prospect of being able to make her favourite breakfast.

Edward and Clarice laboured for over an hour to create the perfect breakfast, and their time was running out. They winced at each passing minute on the clock, making sure their timings were perfect and their food well cooked. In the thick of things they heard the light footfalls of their mother patter down the stairs, and the pair cringed at the sound.

"She's coming! Mummy's coming!" Clarice cried, affixing a strawberry to one of her pancakes.

"I know, I know!" Edward replied with worry. Facing renegade Soul Reapers and enhanced extremists was nothing compared to the concept of an angry mother, so matter the circumstance. The footsteps neared, and the siblings quickly finished their meal.

"It's ready, quickly, get it to her!" Edward ordered, dropping some egg onto the fifth attempt to create proper toast.

"Me!? Why me?" Clarice winged, stomping her feet like the child she was.

"Because I said so! Besides, she'll like it if you do it for her!" Clarice ceased her moaning, and took the tray slowly out to door. It wobbled and she faltered as she moved forward, but didn't drop a crumb. Edward looked back at his handiwork, smiling proudly.

Hitsugaya sat at his desk in boredom, flipping a coin and leaning on his desk when he wasn't. His lieutenant had been out for a good while and he therefore had no one to speak to. As much as he hated the woman's lazy attitude and her disdain for work, she was really all he had to talk to; at least, when Ukitake was finished bringing him gifts. He began tapping the hilt of his sword impatiently when the doors were flung open. In stepped Matsumoto, but her posture was different. Unlike her regular slouch and eager step, her steps were more deliberate and her back straight. Hitsugaya would have called it an improvement until she suddenly bent over awkwardly, like she was in pain. She looked up at her captain with a look of desperation and guilt, and spoke like she was choking:

"Please, captain, go! I…I can't… fight him! He's going to… _kill_… you!" she said slowly, taking pauses to breath and grimace.

"Matsumoto? What's wrong!?"

Edward sat up in bed quickly, his hairs standing on end. Something was wrong, he could _feel_ it. He pulled out his Denreishinki and looked for a message or phone call. Nothing. His awakening stirred the cat form of Shujinku, who stretched casually and scratched his ear.

"What is it now? We're not switching, I hope you know that! I've spent too long in that stinking body of yours, it's horrible!"

"Something's… off. I don't know what, but… something's wrong. I… feel… wait, what do you mean my body's horrible?!"

"Oh, y'know, it's… weird!"

"What do you mean weird!? I always thought it was pretty… OK?"

"Well, good for you! I'm going back to bed, enjoy yourself!" he said tiredly, quickly returning to his slumber. Edward lay back in his bed, pondering his turning stomach. He couldn't pin it down, but he just knew something was wrong. He was about to fall asleep when a sharp sickness suddenly came over him, like the feel of dread. Its icy claws dug into his heart, and he almost flew out of bed.

"What is it!? What's wrong?!"

Matsumoto doubled over in agony, and her terror filled eyes turned into a smoky black. Her body tensed up and then relaxed, pulling her sword from its sheath as she straightened up. A deep chuckle rung out from her body, and Toshiro leapt to his feet.

"She was strong! No one's put up a fight like that before! She practically broke out of my control when we reached your office… I had my guard down, won't happen again." Hitsugaya didn't speak, and instead attempted to restrain his lieutenant.

"Bakudo 1: Sai!" Nothing happened, and there was silence until the voice laughed again.

"Not going to happen, boy. My Reiatsu has been combined with hers, and that's more than enough to overpower a captain like you!" Matsumoto readied her sword, this time without conflict.

"Growl, Haineko!" Her sword was released, and Hitsugaya grabbed the hilt of his sword in return. He was too late, however, and Rangiku willed the ash towards Toshiro. Blood and ash flew from the large hole created in his stomach, as Hitsugaya crumbled to the floor. The voice chuckled as the smoke left Matsumoto's body, twisting its way through the cracks of the door.

Matsumoto came to her senses, and shrieked in terror. She cradled the boy captain in her arms, and cried for help. Several armed members burst into the room, all of them faltering at the sight. Matsumoto cried out, tears flying from her face as the blood leaked over his hands.

"Get Unohana! Now!" Several members left but the few who remained noted the ash littered around the room, and the ash in his wound…


	29. Chapter 29

Edward sat at his desk uncomfortably, slowly completing his maths homework. His mind was on other things, however, and he sloppily wrote down blatantly wrong answers and lazy working out. He couldn't shift the knot in his stomach, and he found himself checking his phone every chance he had. Something was seriously wrong, but he couldn't put a finger to what it could be. He sat tapping his pencil against the wood when there was the loud crash of shattered glass disturbed him. He spun around quickly, almost falling off his chair. In a pile of smashed glass and tattered robes was Rangiku Matsumoto, or a shell of the former strong woman she was.

Her long orange hair was messed up and her made-up eyes messy and leaking. She was distraught, and her speech broken and hard to understand.

"Edward… the captain… they're coming!" she blurted out quickly, Edward only picking out some of the words.

"Matsumoto, calm down, what's happened?!" Edward said, kneeling down next to her. She began to speak, but slammed her back against the wall to hide from the window.

"They're here!" she whispered, sweat beading off her forehead.

"Who's here!? Who is it, what's happened?!" Edward repeated, trying to make some sense of her. She continued shaking, and Edward sighed as he shouted to Shujinku.

"Shujinku!" he said simply, standing up

"I'm on it…" he said with a sigh, coughing up the Soul Candy. Edward quickly swallowed it, consciously blocking out the implications of cat-born pills, and then jumped out the window.

Edward stood in the middle of the street with his sword ready, analysing the battle ahead. Several members of the Omnitsukido were littered around the road, roofs and sky. They stood calmly, until one stepped forward and spoke:

"We're here for the arrest of 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto. Present her, and we will leave immediately." He said officially and bored, probably uninterested in the circumstances.

"She's not here, so leave." Edward said firmly

"We have seen her enter your residence. If you do not cooperate we will use force." He said with a sigh, obviously wanting to avoid a fight.

"This is my house. You cannot burst in and make demands, not while I'm here." Edward sat, doing his best to act threatening.

"This is an official arrest; you can't deny our demands."

"Try me!" Edward said, readying himself for the battle. The squad members were about to attack, when a voice stopped them. The group stood to attention, parting to reveal their captain: Soi Fon.

Soi Fon was small in stature, but her reputation and prowess preceded her. Even now Edward feared her, more so than his own captain.

"Captain, it's nice to see you." Edward said, slowly sheathing his sword.

"Cut the crap, Smith. You know why we're here." She said no nonsense-ly, her face remaining blank.

"That's the thing: I don't. You're _subordinates_ here told me nothing!" Edward replied, glaring at the one who spoke to him.

"You've been told nothing? Nothing at all?" Soi Fon asked, looking genuinely shocked.

"No! What's happened!? What's so important?!" Soi Fon looked around at her subordinates and then at Edward's window, where Rangiku was peeking out.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto is wanted for…" she began, hesitating to look at Edward "…for the attempted murder of 10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Edward went limp, his arms falling to his side. He looked at the ground in horror, his eyes wide in horror. He stayed silent for a long while, before staring up at his window. Matsumoto stared back with guilt, shaking her head slowly. Edward didn't know what to do, or who to believe, and looked back a Soi Fon.

"I… I feel sick…" he said meekly, looking at the vastly mature captain for help.

"We're taking Matsumoto in for arrest, now." Edward stared at the captain, looked back at his window, and then made a proposition.

"What evidence is there?"

"She was found at the scene with the body, and ash from her weapon was in the wound and her released Zanpakuto present." Edward mulled it over for a while, before continuing his plan.

"Let me prove her innocent, let me find out what happened. Matsumoto adores Tosh, and you all know that. Let me figure out how he was hurt, OK?" Soi Fon hesitated for a moment, before nodding uncertainly.

"You have two weeks. Two weeks and it's out of my hands."

Edward bowed, thanked the captain and began to walk away, before quickly spinning around:

"We're still on for tomorrow, aren't we?" he asked with a quick grin, earning a scoff from the captain.

"Of course, my squad are on hand."

"Remember what I said, it has to be believable!"

"It will be! I will see to it." She said with a smile, Flash Stepping away with her squad. Edward stared up at his window, at Matsumoto's tear covered face. She mouthed a 'thank you' and disappeared from view. Edward looked back at the ground, and quickly burst into tears over his captain.

Matsumoto looked on as the third seat fell down in his grief, guiltily falling back against the wall. She opened her fist, in which was clasped a tear of the captain's coat. She looked at it forlornly, and then shoved it down her kimono for safekeeping. She reluctantly recalled the events of her captain's attack, and the fact she was totally aware of it. She could _feel_ the presence in her body, feel it controlling her, but could do nothing to stop the events that followed. She was forced to watch as her captain was almost murdered with her _own weapon; _her own Haineko. She found herself checking parts of her body to see that she was still in control, breathing a sigh of relief when she was.

"You can sleep on the floor. There's a mat and blanket in the wardrobe; stay out of your Gigai so my family won't notice…" Matsumoto looked up, not having noticed Edward walk in. He refused to look her in the eye, and quickly changed into his real body and went to sleep. Rangiku slowly grabbed the sleeping supplies, and lay down. She rolled over, her eyes tear filled, and slowly passed out.


End file.
